Outside the Bubble
by OvertlyConcealed
Summary: Shy and awkward Edward is resistant to change. He dislikes being put in uncomfortable situations and hates forced interactions. Keeping away from the new employee who threatens to change everything is a must. Too bad for long elevator trips. Slash. ExJ
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Huge thanks to my betas sapphirescribe and cocoalvin! (Edited and reposted 3/9/11)  
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****Chapter One: Traumatophobia**

"Hey! Hold the elevator!"

_Oh, heaven help me, it's him. _

Lowering my gaze to the floor, I stuck my hand out to prevent the metal doors from closing. I was the first to admit, I had an irrational fear of an elevator dropping while being stuck in the doorway. I blamed my twin sister for making me watch _Speed _an excessive number of times when we were younger.

Now, my left hand lingered on the edge of doom; any moment the cable could snap, the door could malfunction, or the electrical circuits could blow, causing a cascade of events which could lead to the severing of my hand or, more likely, my horrific demise!

However, I could not let that deter me. It may come as a shock for some, but I usually don't step outside what I've dubbed "Edward's comfort bubble."

And by _I_, I mean my sister, Alice. The name sort of spread fast through close friends and family. It wasn't until I caught myself using the name that I gave up trying to make them stop.

Some might wonder about the cause of my sudden display of heroism.

Well, it was all because of _him_…the one known as Jasper Whitlock. I may…_may_ be slightly attracted to him; nothing big, of course.

Honestly, it was probably just due to him being the newest employee and his excellent skills in the marketing field. Yup, nothing to do with the swimmer's body he maintained, the slight hint of an accent that had me wondering for hours where it originated, his ability to command a room or the way his sly smile seemed to cause my legs – among other things – to quiver.

Like I said, it was just a small attraction.

I was sure that in no time at all, I wouldn't even think twice about the name Jasper Whitlock.

Good God…I loved his name! Of course, over the past couple of months at Cullen Enterprises I had heard people refer to him by many other names: Jazz, Jazzy, Mr. Whitlock, Whit and – what the imbecile Mike Newton so _lovingly_ nicknamed him – the Lockmeister.

_And he's in charge of public relations. I still don't see why my father hired Mike Newton, but using my brilliant deductive skills, I think it may have to do with my father being friends with Michael Newton Sr. for the last 35 years. _

The sound of Jasper nearing caused me to raise my gaze from the floor.

_Okay, Edward this is it, time to play it cool…_

It was as if someone was trying to torture me.

Sure, to others it may only seem as if Jasper was jogging down the hall in an attempt to catch the descending cube of death; but to me, he was running in slow motion. His short blond curls slightly bounced with each step he took. With each bounce he made, his untucked shirt flew upwards to reveal a small area of his impeccable abs.

He easily could have been an extra on _Baywatch_….um, a show that Alice made me watch…against my will, of course.

Images – specifically sweaty, inappropriate images – came to mind. Jasper dressed in red shorts, carrying a life preserver and sprinting off to save an ill-advised individual who decided to venture into the water a little too far.

There are serious dangers when visiting the ocean, people should be more cautious. I could reveal such horror stories those with a weak heart should leave the room prior. There was the threat of the vicious undertow, the piercing qualities of certain coral that could cause severe blood loss, or stingers of doom…otherwise known as the common jelly fish.

_Oh, and I may have an irrational fear of sea creatures. _

Jasper finally arrived and entered the elevator. He stepped past me, grazing my shoulder with his own.

After recovering from the shock of his close proximity, I retracted my hand and held it across my stomach.

I would not leave it in death's grasp any longer than need be.

"Hey," Jasper said in a tired breath. "Thanks for waiting, Mr. Cullen."

_If only we were on a first name basis…but, that would require me talking to him for that to happen._

I chanced a peek at him. I should have known better.

He was far too close, his smile was far too mesmerizing, he was far too…just too much _everything._

_I must stick to the plan. Play it cool. As long as I say something, it will be a step up from previous encounters. _

Jasper had been working for my family's company for a couple of months now. I had done my best to avoid as many direct interactions with him as I could.

I've been told that I'm not the best "people person." Sure, I don't feel the need to fill silence with talking or volunteer any personal information about myself to anyone, but that doesn't mean I'm not personable.

I am very personable! Just ask the guys in my online fantasy football league or the group I play _Call of Duty _with online.

I just have a harder time starting a conversation with someone I don't know as well; that person just happens to be Jasper of course.

It fell to my younger brother, Emmett, and me to meet with each department on a regular basis and make sure that all the branches within Cullen Enterprises ran smoothly and efficiently. So when there was a meeting or conference with Jasper's department, I just let Emmett handle it.

However, "Operation Don't-talk-to-Jasper" didn't really work out for me when every day for the last month – no matter what I did, no matter what time I left – we always ended up together on the elevator at the end of the day.

It was getting very frustrating, to say the least; especially, considering my irrational fear of enclosed spaces. It _was_ getting better. The doctor and I were working on overcoming that phobia; but now, for some odd reason, being in the elevator with Jasper made me feel a different level of anxiety than before.

However, I would overcome it! I would play it cool. I would speak actual words to him.

_I am Edward A. Cullen. I am twenty eight years old and I will not be intimidated by anyone – elevators, heights, sea creatures, horrific accidents, swans, falling ill and stepping on cracks, maybe…but not anyone!_

_Of course, I will start out small. Maybe say a 'good bye' or a 'see you later,' nothing fancy, just a nice little baby step. _

After what may have been the longest elevator ride in my life. The elevator doors opened and we stepped out, breaking off in two different directions.

Jasper sent a smile in my direction and turned toward his designated parking spot. "Good bye, Mr. Cullen. See you tomorrow."

I swallowed hard. This was it, time to man up.

"Good you later, Mr. Whitlock!"

My body tensed and I saw Jasper stop mid-step.

_Did I just say, "Good you later?"_

Jasper started to slowly turn around but before he could face me completely, I did what any one else would have done in that specific situation. I booked it in the other direction and practically power walked the entire way to my car.

_Well, that could have gone better. _


	2. Chapter 2

**I was not expecting this kind of response for this story. Big thanks to everyone who reviewed and added this to their favorites! **

**Huge thanks to my betas sapphirescribe and cocoalvin! (Edited and reposted 3/9/11)**

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**Chapter Two: Athazagoraphobia**

_I'm almost sure this is considered stalking in some states. _

I was sitting on the edge of my office chair, ready to spring into action at the first sight of his unruly bronze colored hair.

I had my shoulder bag already placed in my lap. Nervously, I glanced out my office door – one that I strategically left open – toward the hallway that led to the elevator.

Usually, I wasn't so antsy to catch a glimpse of him, but today was a different story for two reasons. One, I didn't get a chance to see him in the morning. By the time I arrived, his car was already parked in his spot. Two, yesterday was the first time in months that he spoke to me.

Not that the words made any sense; at least I don't think they did? I was in too much shock that he actually spoke to me that he could have said anything.

Where was he? He usually left for lunch between 12:05 and 12:15. He was probably just running a little late today.

_Yes, this is definitely stalking._

I would have been the first to admit that my recent actions were out of the ordinary for me. I had never been like some school girl fawning over a crush.

I was more of the love 'em and leave 'em type. Between school and work, I never had the time or desire for any semblance of an actual relationship.

It took me a while to admit it, but I was infatuated with Edward Cullen.

Obtaining a job at Cullen Enterprises was more than I could have ever hoped for. Applying for such a prestigious company was a long shot. Somehow, I beat out other qualified applicants and was given a chance to significantly further my career.

I had no desire to screw up my once in a lifetime chance. My plan was to focus, do the job to the best of my ability and make the company money.

_So what do I go and do?_

_I pine after the boss's son._

What absolutely killed me the most about the entire situation was I never even saw it coming.

I denied it at first, thinking it was only natural to want your boss's incredibly attractive son. I hung on to every word he said; even though he rarely opened his mouth in my presence.

Edward Cullen was the epitome of the strong, silent type. It made me wonder what went through that head of his. I was sure that whatever it was would surprise me.

On my first day I met all three of the Cullen men. Carlisle Cullen gave me the shock of my life when he decided that he would stop by my office to introduce himself. He was a lot nicer than I originally thought but, I wouldn't lie, he still intimidated the hell out of me.

It wasn't until later, while attending my first company meeting, that I got to meet the rest of the Cullens. While all the Cullen men were clearly attractive, I could safely say that I…_appreciated_ Edward's looks more.

I shook their hands, and was about to give Edward my Whitlock smile, but he didn't even look directly at me.

Couldn't say my ego didn't take a hit but it didn't matter anyway. He _was_ the boss's son and clearly, he wasn't interested. No big deal.

But it was a big deal, a very big deal!

Edward Cullen started invading my thoughts more and more. Like some high school boy with a crush, I would start to notice little things he would do and wonder why he would do them. The way his step faltered slightly whenever exiting or entering the elevator. The way he would walk faster when he passed the fish tank in the main lobby.

Yup, I was turning into a love-struck girl. The only thing that could make it worse was if I started to write our names together on the back of a notebook.

I snorted. That would definitely push me over into the "freakishly obsessed" zone.

_Jasper Cullen…Edward Whitlock…Jasper Whitlock-Cullen…yes, having our names hyphenated sounded so much better. _

I smacked myself in the forehead. _I'm not even going to acknowledge that I did that. _

The one thing I couldn't help but notice in the couple of months that I have worked at the company…Edward never _once _spoke to me directly.

When I found out what the younger Cullens did for the company, I was more than thrilled. At least due to his position within the company, I would be able to talk with Edward on a regular basis.

Well, that got shot to shit fast. Every time there was a meeting with our department, it was always Emmett who showed up. Not that I find anything wrong with the guy, but I'd rather look at another Cullen.

As time went on, I grew to accept the fact that Edward wasn't interested; he probably had some tall, skinny girlfriend waiting for him at home. She was most surely beautiful and she probably loved how Edward was the silent, brooding type.

It didn't mean I wasn't allowed to look.

Like I said, no big deal, he just wasn't interested.

But it was a big deal, a very big deal!

Especially when I found out that Edward Cullen was gay. No, I didn't mean gay as in happy. Trust me, I checked with the people relaying this information to me. Apparently he was gay, as in he liked men.

Oh, and apparently he was single, so I couldn't even assume that his lack of interest in me was due to a tall, muscular boyfriend waiting for him at home, who was surely handsome and loved that Edward was the silent, brooding type.

If this didn't put a damper on my mood, I didn't know what could. I was a man and he didn't even give me a second glance.

I do think I took it all in stride though; I barely even thought about the entire situation.

_Edward? Edward who?_

The fact that I drank a good amount of beer and called my ex-boyfriend, Peter, to reassure me of my better qualities, meant nothing and the fact that this occurred on the same day I found out about Edward's sexual orientation…well, that was entirely coincidental.

Peter was no help at all. He laughed hysterically and vowed to meet the guy that turned "the overly-cocky Jasper Whitlock" – his words not mine – into a self-doubting, timid person.

It wasn't long before I hung up the phone.

_He's such an ass. He wonders why we broke up._

I decided to let it go. I'm sure Edward…I mean, Mr. Cullen, had some reasonable explanation for not giving me a second glance. He was probably just professional; yes, that was it. He was a very professional person and getting involved with an employee wasn't the best idea.

I was just going to focus on work…and pine from a distance.

It wasn't until one afternoon about a month ago that I realized that maybe Mr. Edward Cullen was a little more introverted than I originally thought and perhaps he wasn't aware of the effect he had on people.

I came to this realization when Edward and I happened to return from lunch at the same time. I did my best to ignore the fact that upon entering the elevator he couldn't have stood further from me.

I tried not to let his blatant lack of interest bother me, so what did I do? I watched every single one of his movements out of the corner of my eye.

_Apparently, I like to torture myself. _

Also, I couldn't help but notice Edward flinch every time the elevator would stop and start.

Like everything else, I wondered why he did this. It was only one of about a thousand questions I had regarding Edward.

Half way up the building I noticed that Edward became fidgety and was eyeing the floor numbers as the elevator ascended.

Much to my disappointment, it seemed as if he was about to get off at a random floor but was stopped when the elevator doors opened and the guy from the mailroom pushed his cart forward, successfully blocking Edward's exit.

I smiled.

_Thank you mailroom guy for keeping Edward with me a little longer, you have perfect timing. I think I may love you._

"Hey Mr. Cullen. Looking good as ever!"

My smile fell. _I think I hate you._

"Um, hello, Riley."

Edward talked to mailroom guy…or "Riley" was it? Wasn't that a girl's name? Apparently, Edward was able to speak to _Riley_ but not me.

_Not that I am taking it personally or anything._

Riley winked toward Edward who wasn't paying him any attention. Edward was attempting to get out of the way of the mail cart by pressing himself in the back corner of the elevator.

"Oh, sorry about that," Riley said as he tried to adjust the cart to fit into the elevator properly. "It's just that my thing is so _big_, sometimes it can get a little _hard _to maneuver in such a small place."

_Are you kidding me?_

Riley smiled and squeezed himself into the elevator, far _too_ close to Edward for my liking.

I cleared my throat. "Yes, maybe if that's the case, perhaps someone who knows how to wield it properly would be better suited for the job."

Riley scowled.

_Yeah, that's what I thought, put that in your cart and shove it. _I paused. _Good God, I'm a finger snap away from turning into a diva. _

"Any who…" Riley turned his attention back to Edward who continued to stare ahead, not paying attention to us at all. "I heard that they were looking for a temporary replacement for Angela once she goes on maternity leave."

_Angela? Edward's assistant? Why is that relevant? _

"I suggested that maybe I could take over for that time; better someone within the company than going through a temp agency. Am I right or am I right?"

_I really hate that guy._

Ignoring Edward's silence, Riley continued, "I think it would be a great way to_ rise_ to the occasion and I'm quite certain that my performance would exceed your expectations. I think becoming your secretary would be a great opportunity, Mr. Cullen."

"Administrative assistant," Edward mumbled.

"Excuse me?" The imbecile replied back.

"They are called administrative assistants," Edward said flatly.

I smiled. I wanted to kiss Edward for that, hell I wanted to kiss him anytime, but especially for that.

"Oh, whatever. I could _ass_-ist you with anything you needed."

My fists clenched together tightly. This guy was starting to piss me off. Was he just one bad pick-up line after the next?

The next time the elevator stopped Edward pushed past Riley and the overly sized cart. "If you'll excuse me." I watched Edward quickly make his way down the hall.

I turned towards Riley, waiting for him to move his ass. "Are you getting off?"

He smirked. "Not yet, I'm not."

I could have hit him right then and there, but there was the fact that I liked my job and didn't want to get fired.

It wasn't until I witnessed this interaction that it occurred to me that maybe Edward didn't realize when people were hitting on him. He seemed completely unaware of what Riley had been alluding to.

_Not that I am complaining. _

Maybe Edward was too wrapped up in his work to notice what was obviously in front of him.

Maybe it wasn't his lack of interest but his lack of acknowledgement that hindered anything from occurring.

Maybe, just maybe, he needed a little nudge to realize the options that he had.

That was why over the next month I just happened to place myself in the same areas as Edward.

When he finally spoke to me, I knew I was getting somewhere.

So here I was, eagerly waiting for Edward to emerge from his office.

One way or the other, whether he was prepared to or not, I was going to have a conversation with Edward Cullen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the reviews! Everyone was great and a lot of you made me laugh. :) **

**Huge thanks to my betas sapphirescribe and cocoalvin! (Edited and reposted 3/9/11)**

**Enjoy...**

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**Chapter Three: Ailurophobia**

I wasn't worried about what happened with Jasper yesterday. Honestly, I could barely even remember what had occurred. I was an adult and I wouldn't let trivial things bother me.

The fact that I arrived forty minutes early for work, took the stairs all the way to the top of the building and was residing on the floor of my office didn't mean anything.

_Nope, I do this all the time…_

I was just going to have to do a better job of avoiding Jasper Whitlock. Obviously, my attempts thus far were severely lacking since I saw him almost every day. After my less than stellar attempt at a "normal" conversation yesterday, I only proved that it would be best for all parties involved if I steered clear of Jasper.

I would be taking the stairs more often. Who wasn't in need of a good cardio workout? This way I can exercise _while _at work. I'm shocked more people didn't do that actually. It seemed perfectly logical to me.

Sure, Carlisle would probably view this as a setback; using the stairs instead of the elevator. I very well couldn't tell him it had to do with my infatuation with another employee.

_I guess I'll have to avoid him as well. _

The door to my office opened and the light switched on. After hearing a familiar sigh, I knew I was busted.

_No point in moving now._

A couple of minutes later I looked up to see my assistant holding a mug of coffee. I gratefully took hold of the cup and greedily drank the contents.

Angela smiled and slowly moved to join me on the floor. It was a little hard for her, due to the fact that she was eight months pregnant. I made a move to help her but she just held up her hand to stop me.

"There!" Angela exclaimed triumphantly as she awkwardly situated herself on the floor.

"Angela, you shouldn't really strain yourself in your condition."

Pregnant women made me nervous. What if something went wrong? What if Angela went into labor and I was the sole person around. Surely I couldn't spring into action to help her.

When she informed me of the news, I was shocked to say the least. Was it too soon? Would a baby change everything?

I did what any other expecting boss would do; I researched the whole pregnancy process. I needed to feel reassured that if something were to happen out of the ordinary then I would be fully prepared.

However, I was most definitely _not_ reassured. Pushing aside the vast amount of images of women parts I stumbled across in the process – I shuddered at the memory – there was an inordinate amount of complications that could occur in any stage of pregnancy.

There was too much that could go wrong in my presence. There was too much to know!

_Where exactly is the fundus and how often should it be massaged? Do men really have to be present during the birth? Do they cut the cord? How much blood is there? I tend to get a tad squeamish…_

When I arrived at work the day after she announced the news, I was slightly frantic and grasping the mounds of papers I found on the topic. Waving them about in the air, I was able to voice my concerns to Angela.

She smiled wide and chuckled. Apparently she found this a laughing matter.

She ushered me over to my desk and sat me down in my chair. With a huge smile still plastered on her face, she informed me that there was no need to worry, everything was taken care of and there was little to no chance that I would need to deal with an emergency.

So there _was_ still a chance…

Angela chuckled _again_. I had heard of laughing in the face of danger, but this seemed to be a different story.

She also informed me that Ben would rather do all the massaging and cutting of the cord.

Ah, yes, her husband, rightly so. I hoped that the expectant father would do the adequate amount of research.

I was more relieved that Angela was taken care of and I wasn't going to be delivering a baby anytime soon.

I wasn't going to lie. I was terrified that one wrong touch by me would send her into labor. Even though I was reassured the opposite by my father, Angela, my therapist and my primary care physician I just couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to occur.

What do they know anyway? Anything could happen.

With those stressful memories in mind, I surveyed Angela's body for any signs of distress.

"Don't worry about me, Mr. Cullen. It's not that difficult sitting down; it's getting back up that's the issue."

_As long as she is all right…_

"However, that's not why we are here. What's going on?" She cocked her head giving me a pointed look.

_Can't let her know something is wrong, time to act nonchalant. _

"I don't know what you mean."

Angela arched an eyebrow.

_That eyebrow never means anything good._

"Mr. Cullen, you were sitting alone in your office with all the lights turned off."

"I…I have a headache."

"Why are you sitting on the floor up against the wall?"

"My back hurts. This position…helps maintain good posture."

"Why are you in the corner wedged between the wall and a filing cabinet?"

"Everyone needs a thinking space…"

Angela sighed. Damn that sigh, I didn't want to cause any amount of stress on that very pregnant body of hers.

"Mr. Cullen…Edward, I've worked for you for over four years. Do you really think I'm going to buy any of this?"

"You're right. You have been an excellent addition to this company for an extended period of time. I think you are overdue for a raise."

She arched the eyebrow again.

_Damn that eyebrow._

"We are both aware you gave me a raise during my last performance evaluation _and_ a bonus a couple months prior. You wouldn't be trying to buy my silence with the promise of a raise, would you?"

"No?"

"Edward, this isn't the first time I've found you like this. It's been a while though, what's going on?"

I sighed and gripped my hair tightly.

"Nothing."

"Would you like me to call for your father…or Dr. Hunter?"

I dropped my hand quickly. "No!" I said, a little too loudly and a little too quickly.

My father thought having a therapist on retainer would be a "beneficial asset." I didn't know if I should be grateful or insulted. I already saw the doctor once a week; did Carlisle really find it necessary to have one available around the clock?

Sure, there was the time that I refused to leave the comfort of my office. At the time, work was being done in the stairway. Who knows what they were doing, but it was apparently taking longer than expected. By then end of the day, when it was time to leave, only the elevator was accessible.

At the time, my…aversion towards the elevator was slightly worse than it is now, which meant there was no way in hell I would step within a ten foot perimeter of that cube of death.

It really was not a big issue to me. I was more than willing to wait until the workers removed their gear and made the stairway a safe place to travel. However, that night just happened to be the Cullen family weekly dinner and my family wasn't leaving the building without me.

Carlisle just _had_ to call Dr. Hunter.

Really it was my family who made a big deal. I saw no issue in waiting whatsoever.

Thankfully, the only people remaining in our building were Carlisle, Emmett, Angela and the receptionist in the main lobby.

Not so thankfully, Carlisle decided after that particular incident that we would need to have a therapist on call.

Couldn't say I was too pleased with his particular choice. Dr. Hunter did come with the necessary credentials – which I looked up prior to our first session – I just didn't think he was doing that outstanding of a job. It has been almost two years and the only thing we have made great advances on is my fear of elevators.

I took a deep breath and counted back from five.

"No, thank you, Angela. I do not require either of their assistance." I ran my hand through my hair. "I was just…thinking."

"In your thinking spot? Yes, we already covered that…maybe you could tell me what you're thinking about?"

I sighed. Apparently, Angela was not going to let this go. I couldn't risk another impromptu session with the doctor and I really didn't want Carlisle to think that I was unable to perform my job adequately.

"Very well. I just happened to…_embarrass _myself in front of a particular someone." I gripped my hair hard and gave it a slight tug.

"For anyone else, the encounter would have gone fine, but not for me, due to all this." I motioned to myself, hoping it was enough to indicate my lack of normalcy.

"An important client?"

I adamantly shook my head, looking at anything but my assistant in front of me. Abruptly, the image of Jasper running popped into my mind. Feeling my face flush, I wanted to groan out in embarrassment. Could I not keep myself in check for more than a moment?

"Oh…oh! A special guy perhaps?"

My head movements stopped. How did she come up with that so quickly?

Angela let out a small gasp and started to ramble to herself, "It _is _a guy…I wonder if he is a client or if he works here or maybe…"

It wasn't a secret that I preferred men, but I wasn't particularly forthcoming with that information either. I was almost certain that the only reason people knew of my sexual orientation was because of last year's Christmas party.

Emmett took it upon himself to get me to "loosen up." Prior to that occasion, I never had more than a glass of wine with dinner. On nights I was feeling wild, I would twist off a cap or two of _Mike's Hard Lemonade. _Seeing no harm in partaking in a little holiday celebration for a change I reluctantly agreed in trying one of his alcohol concoctions.

I easily drank what Emmett had called a "Long Island Ice Tea." Things became a little fuzzy after that moment and next thing I knew, I was standing under the mistletoe…and I wasn't alone.

_What ridiculous holiday traditions…_

Apparently, the guy who worked in the mailroom also preferred the male gender. It wasn't until a minute…or three had passed that I realized a tongue was being shoved into my mouth. I pushed away the individual, but not before he lightly nipped my bottom lip.

Obviously, he must have thought me to be someone else. It wasn't as if individuals go around and kiss people all willy-nilly. I remembered politely excusing myself and staggering away.

_Like I said, this is why I think people knew I was gay, but I can't be sure._

I didn't really care who knew and if anyone had an issue with it, my brother Emmett would step up and proclaim that he would "set them straight." Emmett would then chuckle and say, "More like…set them _gay_." I understood it was a play on the previous expression and that he found it quite humorous. I, on the other hand, didn't see why it was _that_ funny. Surely my joke about a giraffe's favorite fruit was far funnier than Emmett's.

It didn't really matter to me, it's not like I had a chance with anyone with all my issues.

"Angela, I don't think it's appropriate for me to discuss this with you…" I trailed off, hoping she would get the hint.

She raised her hand. "No, no, you're right. It's none of my business. I'll pretend that I didn't hear a thing."

_Why was she smiling like that?_

"But – if you don't mind me asking – what are you going to do now? Are you going to try talking to him again?"

_Is she crazy?_

"Are you crazy? Of course not, after the interaction we had, it would be easier to go back to hiding…at least until I can resolve all this." I waved my hands again to motion to myself, realizing that I was a little more frantic than I intended it to be.

I ignored the way her face formed into a disapproving frown and abruptly got to my feet. I carefully, and oh-so gently, helped her stand up and eyed her with the utmost concern. Honestly, there was no way I could handle it if her baby decided to emerge today.

I may have been an _expectant_ boss but I was not prepared for that responsibility just yet.

I slumped in my chair and rested my forehead against the desk.

"Mr. Cullen, one more thing, if I may."

Lifting my head, I noticed Angela standing by the door looking rather hesitant to speak. It was very unlike her, she comes across as rather quiet but she wasn't afraid to speak her mind if the situation called for it.

I nodded slowly, rather reluctant to hear what she had to say.

"I know you think hiding is the answer and you are very good at it. Outside your family and me, no one else knows of your…quirks."

_Quirks…nice way of putting it._

She took a deep breath and continued, "But, maybe you're a little _too_ good at hiding. Nothing is wrong with being a little different. Maybe it's not necessarily a good thing to change."

I couldn't help but stare at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"Sorry if it sounds corny, but it's true." Angela shrugged. "It's just an idea."

With that, she exited the office and I rested my head back against the desk.

So much for things being easy. Maybe I could change careers? I've always wanted to be a veterinarian.

_Too bad I have a fear of cats._


	4. Chapter 4

**Huge thanks to my betas sapphirescribe and cocoalvin! (Edited and reposted 3/9/11)**

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Chapter Four: Agoraphobia**

I didn't get much work done after my talk with Angela. Not that I let what she said bother me – most definitely not – I just focused my attention on more important things.

Apparently, "important things," meant obsessively thinking how perfect Jasper was and how I was not.

_I wonder if the tint of blond in his hair is natural or artificial. Well, I _know_ his blue eyes must be contacts. It's impossible for someone's eyes to be that blue!_

I told Angela to hold all non-essential calls. I needed to be in the right frame of mind, which involved no outside contact and avoiding everyone and everything for as long as possible.

_What Dr. Hunter calls over-reacting, I call being cautious. _

Looking at the clock, I realized it was almost noon. I had spent most of the morning sitting at my desk, doing nothing but thinking of Jasper.

Which, come to think of it, sets me back in my plan to "avoid all things Jasper Whitlock."

_I should really move from this chair; DVT's are a real threat that should not be taken lightly._

I stood up and walked around my desk once and then sat right back down.

Good enough, now what? Work, yes, I would do work. I wondered if Jasper was still working. He had probably left for lunch already. When I left around this time, he usually did too.

Maybe it was safe to leave for lunch now. No, I would stick to the plan. I would just stay in my office; I have a protein bar in my briefcase.

However, maybe Angela was right. Everyone was a little different. Sure, I might be _a lot _different, but some people find quirks endearing, right? I would need to confirm that with Angela.

It wasn't as if I hadn't overcome setbacks in the past. I was actually doing pretty well up until the end of college. Maybe I could do it again? I was older, wiser, more determined.

_I am Edward A. Cullen, and I will not be deterred! The next time the opportunity arises, I will speak actual words to Jasper Whitlock and this time, they will actually form a complete sentence._

There was a knock. "Mr. Cullen, may I come in?" I heard Angela ask as she started to push open the door.

_Jeepers, I need to look busy!_

I grabbed the mouse and started to click randomly at the empty computer screen. A little trick I picked up when I didn't want to do something but needed to look busy.

_Smart; I think yes! _

Angela shut the door and gave me a small smile as she walked over to the desk. "Mr. Cullen, will you be going to lunch soon? The other girls are waiting for me."

Angela ate her lunch with a few other administrative assistants. In my quest to stay hidden, I forgot that she left when I did. I instantly felt guilty; the baby must be in need of nutrients!

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm tied up in a lot of things here. I'm far too busy to leave for lunch today."

I clicked the mouse and leaned toward the computer screen, no doubt selling the illusion of being too preoccupied.

Feeling a little cocky, I chanced a peak at Angela only to find her arching her eyebrow at me.

_How _does _she do that? _

I had tried that action in front the mirror on many occasions, but it seemed as though my body was incapable of mimicking that movement.

_Another thing I am incapable of…I'll just add it to the list. _

Well, at least I can roll my R's, a lot of people are unable to do that. At least I had that.

"You are _not_ too busy, Mr. Cullen. You're just doing that thing you do when you pretend to be busy," Angela said, sitting across from me.

"What? I don't know what you are talking about?"

_How did she know? I swear sometimes she is a mind reader. _

She pointed behind me.

"I can see the screen in the reflection of that frame hanging on your wall."

Turning around abruptly, I quickly glared at the object that gave me away.

_Stupid Master's Degree. Why did Esme insist I hang it in my office? The top shelf in my closet was a good enough place for it. _

"Edward, I'm not going to let this happen."

"Angela, I don't know what you mean…"

"Edward, clearly you have been sitting in here sulking."

"I'm not sulking. I've been working. Busy, busy!"

I grabbed a bunch of papers, shuffled them together and moved them around.

She sighed. It was a lost cause. I was grasping at straws. If the clicking of the mouse thing didn't work, then this clearly wasn't going to.

"Just talk to the guy, Edward."

_Deny everything. Just act like she's talking crazy. She's pregnant; she has all those extra hormones floating around inside of her. Blame them!_

I dropped my hands and let them hit the desk with a bang.

"But, I don't know _what _to say!"

_My latest plan is crumbling before my eyes. _

She smiled, obviously enjoying the fact I gave in. "You can talk about anything."

My desperate pleading expression fell into a frown.

Talk about anything? That was her advice?

"That doesn't help me. I can't even talk to him at all. Just the other day in the elevator, it took all my courage to say five words…" I trailed off, after realizing what I did. Angela was one smart cookie; maybe she didn't catch my minor slip. I'm sure her extra huge smile didn't mean a thing…

"In the elevator, you say?"

I sighed and hit my head against the desk.

"Angela!" I may or may not have whined. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Oh, sorry, yes."

I lifted my head to see her tapping her chin and looking thoughtful.

"Edward, it doesn't have to be rocket science. Just talk to him like you would me…well, maybe not me, talk to him like you would Mike from public relations."

"Mike's an imbecile."

"Fine, wrong choice. Oh, okay, talk to him like a new client. You're nice and polite. Just mention something causal like: movies, work, or the last thing you read. Maybe you could ask him about his interests."

"I don't know…"

"If it helps, try not looking at him directly the first couple times you talk."

Not looking at him when I talk? Well, it _could_ work. There would be a better chance of not becoming distracted by his overly charming smile, his unnaturally blue eyes, or the way he would stretch his arms, making his shirt ride up to view a small portion of his abs.

Not that I noticed such things.

Okay, I've decided then, when I talk to Jasper, I just say…anything. Easy enough.

If the moronic Mike could do it, then surely I was more than capable.

Practice makes perfect, right? Well, if it's true, the second conversation I have with Jasper could only get better than the first.

"You'll do fine." Angela patted my forearm.

It was easy for her to say, she wasn't about to make a fool of herself.

Okay, I agreed to interact with Jasper, but it doesn't mean I'm going to seek him out. I may have been walking on the edge of doom but I was no Evel Knievel.

_Not yet, anyway…_

My head snapped up when I heard a loud sound coming from her abdomen. "Holy moly! Is that the baby? What is wrong? Whatever you do, don't push!"

"Mr. Cullen, it is just my stomach growling. Take a deep breath."

_Oh. _

I ran my hand through my hair. After my heart rate returned to normal, I sprung up from my seat.

"You need to go eat!"

"Fine, fine Mr. Cullen," Angela said as she slowly stood. "But, you are going to leave as well."

I lead Angela to the exit and grabbed the door knob to open it for her. She shouldn't be using any more of her strength if she was in such a weak state.

"Very well, if it gets you to consume food, I'll agree to leave for lunch."

_I'll just wait ten more minutes to leave, just in case I run into Jasper._

At finishing the thought, my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the topic of discussion walking down the hallway and heading in my direction!

Thank the Lord that Jasper was glancing down at the floor as he walked.

_I must maintain an even respiratory rate. I must remain calm. I must _not _panic. _

I glanced at Angela who was just giving me a confused look.

"I'm not here!" I stated in what some would call a loud whisper, while flailing my hands around.

Her befuddled expression turned to one of understanding; I didn't know if I should be grateful or worried.

I settled on worried when her mouth formed into a smile.

_That can't be anything good._

She took a step out of the office to greet Jasper while I pressed myself up against the wall, wishing I had the ability to become two-dimensional.

It would make hiding that much easier…

"Hello, Mr. Whitlock. How are you today?

"Hello to you too, Mrs. Cheney. I'm doing fine. How are you doing this lovely morning?" Jasper's melodic voice rang out as I listened from behind the door.

_Fine? Why is he just fine? Isn't that a term people use when they are really not that fine? If he means it like Emmett does when he views a female walking past him, then I could agree. Jasper is fine…or as Emmett says, "damn, he is fiiine."_

_I _may _be over-thinking things. _

"I'm doing wonderfully now." Angela's answer broke me out of my inner ramblings.

"That's great. Well, I just wanted to let you know Jessica and the other girls have left for lunch already. I offered to come down and let you know."

Why on earth would they leave a very pregnant Angela to walk alone to meet them? Yes, they usually ate at the diner across the street, but still, to leave Angela to make the journey herself?

I knew I didn't like that Jessica Stanley girl. Jasper deserves a far better assistant.

"You offered? You didn't have to walk all the way down here to tell me that Mr. Whitlock, but thank you anyway. I will meet up with them shortly."

"No need to thank me, it was my pleasure. Would you like it if I walk you to the diner?"

"Umm." Angela seemed hesitant, I didn't know why. Maybe Jasper's charms affected her as well. She really couldn't blame me, if she was just as nervous to talk to him.

"Sure. Let me grab my coat. Getting to lunch soon is a great idea," Angela exclaimed, raising her voice at the end of the sentence, almost as if she was hinting at something. "Yes, if I was going to go to lunch, _now _would be the best _time_!"

Darn tootin' it was a good time. A hungry Angela meant a hungry baby.

Jasper chuckled and I felt my knees buckle – probably due to the excessive amount of time I spent at the desk today. I _did_ only circle my desk once.

"Okay then. Ready?" Jasper asked. I could almost see his gorgeous smile.

"Yes, thanks again, Mr. Whitlock."

Their voices trailed off as I heard them walk down the long hallway.

"No problem and how many times have I told you to call me Jasper?"

"Sorry, it's a force of habit. Don't worry though, I have a feeling I'm going to remember it from now on."

O . o . O . o . O

I stayed pressed up against the wall for another five minutes doing deep breathing exercises before I decided to venture out of the office.

I decided that I experienced far too much excitement in the last thirty minutes so I took the stairs. Not that it calmed me but at least it prevented me from feeling any additional stress.

My plan was simple: go to the sandwich shop two buildings down, order a sandwich, bring previously-mentioned sandwich back to the building, and then eat sandwich in my office.

Walking faster than normal, I booked it toward the door. No matter what, if I took the stairs or elevator, I would have to walk past that damn fish tank.

Honestly, I would love to understand why we needed such a freakishly large container full of those miniature versions of _Jaws_.

_I don't care what Alice says, those creatures not only follow me with their little shark-like bodies, but with their eyes too! _

I barely noticed the brunette receptionist give me a small wave.

"Goodbye, Mr. Cullen!"

I grumbled a response as I hurried out the door.

Plan get-my-lunch-quickly was going off without a hitch. Although, I was so stressed thinking about Jasper that I couldn't formulate actual words and was reduced to pointing to my preferred sandwich while receiving quizzical looks from the sandwich shop staff. This didn't stop me from receiving my sandwich in less than seven minutes and I was back in the building to be greeted by the same receptionist.

"Welcome Back, Mr. Cullen!"

I nodded in response.

I made a rash decision. The elevator was faster and, so help me, I was starving.

I chanced it.

Hitting the elevator button multiple times might not bring it faster, but it surely made me feel better.

After entering the elevator, I could safely say it was the _first _time I ever felt relief stepping onto that cube of death.

Well, that was until a hand shot through the opening of the doors to halt their closing.

_No…it can't be. _

"Oh, hey Mr. Cullen."

_Yes, it is Jasper. _The_ Jasper I agreed to talk with the next time we met. _

I did the only thing I knew how to do. I nodded.

_Okay, that's a start. _

Could I make it out of the elevator in time? Would that seem suspicious?

Probably.

The elevator started to rise – as did my anxiety.

What did Angela say? Right, not to look directly at him…so watching him from the corner of my eye as he shifted back and forth on both legs was a bad idea?

Probably.

"Oh, is that sandwich from Sue's? I love the place."

I looked down at the food that I had clutched in a death grip, before lifting my gaze up and nodding.

_I actually answered a question. I would give myself a high-five or a pat on the back if I could. However, Jasper might perceive that as weird. _

_Better save that for later._

"Nice weather we are having," Jasper stated. "Especially for November."

_Now it was time to try an actual word. _

I swallowed and nodded. "Yup."

_Yes, that's me, Edward Cullen, speaking to Jasper Whitlock! _

_Though, save your congratulations for later, you are in the middle of a conversation after all._

I took my eyes off the wall that indicated the current floor we were on to glance at Jasper.

I was safely stepping out of "Edward's comfort bubble," if I do say so myself, so I expected him to be just as pleased with the conversation as I was!

However, I wasn't greeted with the usual smile that I had become so accustomed to seeing. No, it was quite the opposite, if I had to admit it. Jasper seemed…upset? His head was hanging low and he was looking at the floor with a glazed-over expression.

Dang it to Hell! I was losing him. I needed to think of something more interesting to say and pronto!

_Alright, what to say, something about his interests? Don't really know any of them that well. What else did Angela say? The weather…been there, done that. Didn't work out too well for me. Hmm, what was the last thing I read?_

"Twenty three percent of employees say they have had sex in the office."

_Oh my word! Did I seriously just say that? Stupid random fact application I had on my phone. I will never ever read it again. Next time I'm at the damn sandwich shop I am going to stand there and do nothing. I don't care if they take twenty minutes to make my damn sandwich. _

Jasper – at whom I was still blatantly staring – snapped his head up and looked at me with a wide-eyed expression.

Plus side: I actually spoke words that formed a sentence that Jasper could understand.

Downside: I actually spoke words that formed a sentence that Jasper could understand.

This was _not _turning out better than the first conversation. I _hated_ to be wrong. Another downside was that I couldn't power walk away from this uncomfortable conversation because I had apparently taken the slowest moving elevator in the history of elevators.

I needed to think of something and fast because all Jasper was doing was staring at me and swallowing…_a lot. _Not that I would normally notice such things, but good God! His Adam's Apple was moving up and down at such a rapid pace.

Okay, how do I explain this? More importantly, how do I get images of Jasper and I having sexual relations out of my head long enough to explain this.

I cleared my throat. "Yes, you see…I was reading an interesting article on sex in the workplace."

I ran my hand through my hair, took a deep breath and continued, "It's going to be for…the new sexual harassment training."

_Wow, I am turning into a liar now. What you do to me Jasper Whitlock. _

"Oh," he said, looking away. It was almost like his face became suddenly red.

Probably due to the small confines of the elevator and the accumulating body heat.

"Yes, I just thought it was such an interesting read…that I had to share…with the first person I saw, which was you. Yes, that's it."

It was completely and utterly false, but I didn't care. I actually spoke full sentences to him. Might as well not stop now.

"Who would have thought it to be so high?" I pondered as I returned my gaze forward.

"Kind of low, if you ask me," Jasper muttered, at least I think he did. Jasper couldn't be implying what I think he was.

He had sexual relations while at work? Nah. Well…maybe?

My whole body grew stiff at the thought, and I do mean my _whole _body.

Stupid images of Jasper and I enjoying each other on a physical level popped into my mind.

God help me, I couldn't look at him. I just knew if I looked at him then he would know what I was thinking about.

Speaking of sexual harassment, I really hope talking to a employee about sex does not count as harassment.

The elevator doors opened I was torn between wanting to stay near Jasper and wanting to skedaddle. I couldn't believe I messed up my conversation with Jasper again.

Actually, I could believe it, it was me and all.

I was hoping Jasper would just make the decision for me but he was rooted in his spot. At least, I thought he was. I wasn't going to risk looking at him to find out.

Finally, I just gave up and hastily walked out of the elevator and down the hall.

Well I gave it a go and failed…again.

I had the right idea before, when I was just going to sit in my office and pretend that the conversation with Jasper never happened.

Yes, well that didn't go as planned. What was the expression? Third time's a charm? Correct, so when I make my third attempt in – let's say a couple of months – I'll start with an easy topic. Maybe the current news or the outcome to the most recent sporting event.

Yes, what a good plan, I would try in a couple of months and just avoid Jasper until I was properly prepared.

Too bad the entire world couldn't be on the same page as me.

Not a whole ten minutes went by after I returned to the building that Angela buzzed me.

"Mr. Cullen?"

"Yes, Angela?"

"Your father called, he will be stopping by in twenty minutes to talk to you."

"Okay, thank you, Angela."

I waited for her to hang up like she usually did, but for some reason, she stayed on the line.

"Anything else?" I inquired.

"Oh, um, yes. When I saw Kate at lunch today she informed me that Emmett is leaving for a sudden meeting with _Davis, Thomas & Moore_. So, you will have to take over his afternoon meetings."

_Why do I feel like I won't like this one bit?_

"Okay, when and with whom?"

"There is the meeting at two with the head of PR."

_Great, this day just had to get worse. I'll be stuck conversing with Mike Newton. _

"Also, there is a meeting with marketing at four."

Oh, marketing, that was Jasper's department. I was going to have a private meeting with Jasper at four.

I may or may not have dropped the phone.

_I'm going to have a private meeting with Jasper at four!_

At least I was right about one thing today.

_I didn't like this, not one bit. _

_

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_**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**First off, I want to thank everyone who offered to help me with my story. I didn't expect much of a response...and you all proved me wrong. I kind of failed on responding back to all of the messages/reviews, but I hope I got to most of them. Just know that it was much appreciated!**

**Huge thanks to sapphirescribe and cocoalvin for betaing this chapter for me, for listening to me complain about my insomnia and for getting me hooked on Twitter. (Which I never thought would happen.) **

**I know I'm probably forgetting to put something...but I'm guessing you'd rather me just hit the 'save' button then prolong posting the chapter. Well, if I remember, I'll add it later.  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

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* * *

Chapter 5: Glossophobia**

This was fine, _just_ great. Jasper was going to be in _my _office…alone.

_Did I mention that I was going to be there? Why did I have to be there?_

Not that it mattered though because everything was fine, hunky dory in fact. I _liked _it when my heart rate increased. It's always good to exercise every muscle. Why not the heart too?

I checked my pulse while breathing through pursed lips.

_Only slightly above normal limits. Like I said, nothing to worry about, everything was easy Parcheesi._

"Mr. Cullen! Edward! Are you there?"

Looking from left to right, I wondered where the voice was coming from. Maybe, just maybe, my sudden increase in anxiety has caused me to develop auditory hallucinations as a symptom.

"Mr. Cullen! Are you still there? I'm coming in, if you don't answer me."

I glanced down and noticed the phone was still off the hook. I must not have hung up or responded to Angela.

I took deep, cleansing breaths and slowly brought the phone up to my ear.

It was time to play it cool. I wouldn't let Angela see how this got to me. She already had to give me _two_ pep talks today and, for the love of all land-creatures everywhere, I would not make it a third!

_Time to make Angela proud. _

Clearing my throat, I took another deep breath. I would be determined, I would not be afraid.

"Hello?"

_Okay, a little on the squeaky side, but not entirely unworkable. _

"Mr. Cullen? Oh, thank heavens. I was about to barge in there if you didn't answer me soon," Angela said, sounding relieved.

I sighed. "Angela, I don't think your doctor cleared you to do any 'barging' and I'm going to go on record and say that I'm against such an action. Are you sure you don't need me to buy you a wheel chair to get around? The offer is still on the table."

"No, Mr. Cullen, but thank you." She gave a small laugh. I, however, did not see what was hilarious about being overly cautious, especially with a baby on board.

"You're welcome."

_Drats, I'll get her to agree. Next time…_

"Are you…um, going to be okay with today, Mr. Cullen? You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do." Angela seemed to hesitate before speaking softly. "You could…I don't know, be too busy for the meetings or I could come up with something else?"

I adamantly shook my head even though I quickly realized she couldn't see me. "No, everything is fine, wonderful…just great! Copasetic and all. Nothing needs to be changed. I'm a grown man, and I will be doing my job and there will be no issues." It sounded more like I was pleading with an unknown force for this comment to be true, rather than relaying it to Angela.

"If you're sure…" She trailed off, waiting for me to give up, concede, to throw in the towel. However, I would not do such ridiculous things!

"Positively."

"All right. If you're sure, I'll confirm the three appointments."

"Great," I stated with my smile stretched far too wide.

_I don't even know why I'm holding my face like this, no one can see me. _

"Okay, the first of the three will be in shortly. Your father said that he won't take more than a couple minutes of your time."

"Great."

_I really need to stop holding my face like this, it just might stick. _

We hung up and I decided to get ready for my meeting with my father. I didn't know if it was going to be business, personal or both. I needed to be prepared. He would not see me in a frantic state. He would probably make me go to therapy more than once a week.

I shuddered at the thought. I may be only seeing the doctor once a week, but that was more than enough.

Apparently, "getting ready" for my meeting with my father consisted of me pacing in my office.

_The carpet looked far too new…it needed to look more natural. That seemed like a plausible excuse. _

Yes, I would get prepared for my _two_ meetings. You see, all I had were those _two _meetings. I most certainly do not have a third meeting, because that would require me to think about said meeting and I wasn't going to do that until the very last possible minute.

What the doctor called avoidance; I called not worrying until absolutely necessary.

_That's completely different. _

O . o . O . o . O

A few minutes later, Angela informed me that my father was here. I took a deep breath and organized myself for the performance of a lifetime. I, Edward A. Cullen, may have been far from all right; however, my father didn't need to know that.

I didn't see the issue with my plan. I always thought I would excel as a thespian.

_If only I didn't suffer stage fright…and fear having a large amount of people look at me at the same time…and fear discovering that the dream of presenting nude in front of a large crowd turning out to be real. _

Carlisle came through the door with a small smile on his face. He liked to exude a professional demeanor at work, even if it was just us in the office.

Almost like actors not breaking character in between scenes.

"Edward," he stated and gave a firm nod.

"Dad, what brings you here?" I inquired motioning to the chair opposite my desk. "Did you need the quarterly reports already? I thought they weren't due for another two weeks. I could have them to you in five days if need be."

Carlisle held up his hand, waiting for me to stop.

Was I rambling? Probably.

"Don't worry, son. Those aren't due for a bit."

_Oh._

"Okay." I picked up a pen and started fiddling with it.

If it wasn't the reports then what was it? Well, I wasn't going to start guessing. Guessing led to rambling, rambling meant something was wrong, and if something was wrong…that meant that my father would try to fix it.

I glanced at my father, and he looked back with a questioning expression.

Wait, how long has it been? Did he say something and I missed it? I didn't want it to seem as if I wasn't paying attention. Maybe I should say a random response and hope it's somewhere close to right. "36" seems like a good enough answer. If it wasn't right I could always play it off as a sneeze. No…that seemed a little far fetched. Maybe I was overanalyzing things?

_Or _maybe he was waiting for _me _to say something. Why else would he be staring at me like that?

I tapped the pen on the desk repeatedly.

_If he is waiting for one of us to crack, it is _not_ going to be me. I'll wait here all day if I have to; too bad that will involve me canceling my other meetings._

Oh well.

"Edward?"

My head snapped up. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

My eyes widened. Where on earth did he get the idea I wasn't okay?

"Yes, great, never been better in fact, yourself?"

Perfect, redirection was key when avoid…I mean, not worrying until absolutely necessary.

He seemed startled by my question, his eyebrows rose and he sat up slightly in his seat.

"Oh, everything is great."

I nodded slowly, my gaze going to each side of the room. Was he not going to elaborate?

"So, what brings you here?"

_Fine. I cracked first, sue me. For one, you'll lose, we have excellent lawyers. Two, someone can only take _so _much awkwardness before they give in._

"Just seeing how you are doing." I gave him a questioning look. He never stopped by to check up on me.

Noticing my expression, he elaborated. "I usually see you throughout the day, son. It's the late afternoon and…" Carlisle gripped the back of his neck and looked almost uncomfortable, which was, very much, _unlike_ him. "…well, I wanted to make sure you weren't swamped with work. That's why we have interns."

He gave a quiet laugh while leaning forward and scratching his eyebrow with the end of his thumb.

_Ah ha! A telltale sign that he is lying._

Did he know that I knew that? Of course not! I didn't have a master's degree for nothing. Obviously, he was just checking to see if I had a breakdown or was acting peculiar.

Jumping jehosaphat! You refuse to leave the office _one_ time, have years of therapy and have a list of fears longer than your…._arm_, and all of a sudden people think you're off your rocker.

I do believe I am quite accomplished in reading other people. If I were to…oh, I don't know, be employed as an interrogator, then I would be able to excel in the career at a considerable rate.

_Too bad I fear confrontation. _

"Nope, no issue what so ever. Everything is a-okay."

_I need to stop now._

"All right, you would let me know if you needed anything, wouldn't you?"

_Oh, I don't know, maybe a brain that allowed me to converse with other people like a normal human being._

"Of course."

He seemed to regard me for a moment, while I froze; hoping I didn't have any obvious tells that he could use to indicate I was lying.

"Good." Nodding, Carlisle pushed himself up from the chair and headed for the door.

I let out a breath of air, relieved that that was finally over.

"Oh, one more thing."

Tensing, I sucked the air back in. Did I give anything away?

Clearing my throat, I was able to speak in a calm tone. "Yes?"

"I just spoke with your mother. She had to change our weekly family dinner to tonight. Are you able to make it?"

_Oh, sure, why not? First there was the panic attack, my scare of Angela going into early labor, followed by my "talk" with Jasper, my stare down with my father, what will soon be a horrific encounter with Mike Newton, another talk with Jasper that will obviously go less than stellar…why not add the family dinner? _

"Yes, I'm free."

"Fabulous. I already talked with your brother and sister and they can make it as well."

"Why isn't it tomorrow, as usual?"

He seemed hesitant to speak at first. He looked at the door then back in my general direction while avoiding eye contact.

_What in the dickens is he worked up about?_

"Well, your mother and I are going into the city tomorrow with friends."

"All right, anyone in particular?"

"Just the Newtons…and the Blacks."

_Oh. _

Carlisle looked as if he was about to say something else. All of a sudden, I was tired and really didn't want to talk anymore. Maybe if the world hadn't decided today was, "Let's Watch Edward Cullen Squirm And/Or Develop Cardiac Problems Due To An Increase In Anxiety Day," then someone or something could save me.

There was a low knock on the door and Angela peeked her head in. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Newton is here."

I had never been so happy to have Mike Newton in my office.

O . o . O . o . O

I had never been so annoyed to have Mike Newton in my office.

I tried to resist the urge to hit my head against the desk. The moment he walked in, I was reminded why I despised the guy.

"Hey, hey!" Mike said, pushing himself past Angela to enter my office.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to squeeze the tension out of my body. Though I must admit, I was somewhat grateful for Mike's presence. It had diverted my attention from other topics, which I'd rather not think about.

"Mike has arrived!" he exclaimed, apparently thinking it was appropriate to speak in third person.

Let me reiterate, I was just a _tad _grateful for his presence, but mostly annoyed.

I glanced toward my father and noticed he was sighing and pinching the top of his nose as well. Yes, there was no doubt I'd developed that particular characteristic from him.

When he looked up, I made sure to give him a look, clearly portraying my general feelings of dismay about Mike.

He arched his eyebrow and shrugged, letting me know there was nothing he could do about it and clearly he was showing off. He knew I was unable to mimic that facial movement.

"Mr. C! I didn't expect to see you here. How goes things at casa dai...um de a la Cullen?" Mike stated while plopping himself down in the chair Carlisle had just vacated.

And this was the _head _of our _public relations _department, meaning he dealt with the _public_! I'm honestly shocked we haven't gone under since he started working here.

"Everything is fine, Michael. I was just leaving. Tell your parents we look forward to tomorrow night." Carlisle was already out the door by the end of the sentence.

"Will do!" Mike screamed after him. Angela who was waiting at the door, looked at me, silently asking if I need anything.

"Thank you, Angela. We won't need anything else."

"Yeah, thanks Angie. I've said it before, I will say it again; you're my type of women. You're lucky someone already snatched you up before I could make you mine."

_Yes, she is extremely lucky._

Angela gave me what could only be described as a horrified look. I motioned toward the door with my head, indicating she was free to go. By golly, it _was_ better if she left pronto. If classical music could affect infants while they are still in the womb, then I wasn't taking any chances that this child would have any prolonged exposure to such a human being as Mike Newton.

Mike bopped his head up and down while hitting his hands against his legs, as if listening to music only he could hear.

_Maybe he is…_

I cleared my throat, ready to begin and end this meeting as soon as possible. "Wel—"

"So Eddie what's new?"

"It's Edward."

"It's like I never see you anymore. It's strange, now that I think about it; I've only had my meetings with Emmett."

I shuffled papers absentmindedly around my desk. "Umm, yeah, that is quite peculiar. Anyways, are you ready to give me an update on your department?"

"Oh, we will get to that later, Eddie." Mike stood up abruptly and started to pace around the room.

"It's Edward," I stated slightly louder than before.

"How's your sister doing?" Mike inquired; touching the object that was in front of him.

"She's fine." My tone was a little bit skeptical.

"She single?"

"No," I exclaimed a little too quickly; however, it seemed the Mike didn't pick up on that little fact.

"You'll let me know if that changes?" Mike crossed the room, giving me a wink.

"Sure…" _Right after I jump off a high cliff right in to shark infested waters. _

"Are you ready to begi—"

"Why don't you ever come out to the bars and such?

"What? I don't know what you are talking about. It doesn't matter anyway, I don't drink much."

"Ah, right…the Christmas party."

"Excuse me?"

Mike's head snapped up in alarm. "Oh, um, nothing. Well, if you change your mind, we usually get together every Friday?"

"Thank you for the invite. Wait, who do you mean by 'we?'"

Mike excitedly turned toward me and began counting on his fingers. "Oh, there is T-money, Little Italy, Eric the Almighty, yours truly and sometimes Big Man C and the Lockmeister."

_Jasper? Jasper hangs out with him, with Mike? And who in the world are the other people he named? It doesn't shock me that these are the worst nicknames I have ever heard._

"Mike, could you please stop pacing and sit down? We need to get this done."

"Fine, fine. At least Emmett talks a little first. I figured this would be the perfect time to catch up. We used to hang out when we were young, like…_all_ the time."

Was it possible? Was Mike Newton making me feel guilty?

_He actually looks upset. Maybe it won't hurt to talk for a minute or two._

"Fine, we can catch up briefly before we begin."

His face lit up, while I sighed.

"Great man! All right, give the scoop. Who are you getting hot and heavy with?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me Edward Cullen, you have the name, you have the wealth, and the title. You could get any dick in town."

It was no surprise when my eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, don't worry. I know you prefer the sausage. I'm cool with that. Let's have man-oh a la man-ah talk."

_Wouldn't hurt to talk to for a minute or two? Yeah, I was wrong there. It didn't even take 45 seconds. _

I hit the intercom button.

"Angela, Mike and I are done. Mike will leave his reports on your desk and I will get them later."

"No problem, Mr. Cullen."

Angela did not contain her laughter and Mike just looked perplexed.

_This day keeps getting better and better. _

O . o . O . o . O

I sat at my desk rubbing circles on my temples. I was told the action makes an individual calm.

_It seems like a bunch of baloney to me. If anything, I feel more stressed out. _

I was just relieved that my day was over. Too much excitement could be bad for the heart.

Today I was definitely going to have a hard lemonade. Heck, maybe I'll cut loose tonight and a glass of wine. Wait, tonight was family dinner night, maybe I'll have two glasses of wine.

My internal planning was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Angela stuck her head into the office with a huge smile plastered on her face.

_That can't be good._

I waved her in. "Everything all right, Angela?"

"Everything is great! I just wanted to see if it was okay if I head out early. Ben got off work sooner than planned and he's on his way to pick me up."

"That will be fine."

Why was she still smiling like that? It looked as if she wanted to say something or she was waiting for me to say something.

Honestly, the more awkward everyone else acted, the more anxious I got.

"This is a good thing. This will give you the whole area so you can have all the privacy you need." Angela nudged me and smiled.

_Well, this _is _a single office and has been for awhile. However, I won't point out that fact. I'm sure her odd behavior is due to pregnancy hormones. _

Angela continued to smile as she re-adjusted my tie. I gave her a perplexed look, but she just ignored me.

"Now, remember everything will be fine, just be yourself and you don't have to do anything you don't want to…but, you most certainly should do the things you want to do."

"Umm…"

Angela grinned and made some sort of "eeeee" noise while clapping her hands together.

Entirely odd if you asked me.

She glanced out the door then back at me. "It looks like he is here. Good luck."

After giving a thumbs up she was gone.

I peeked through the door to see Jasper sitting in a chair, rustling a stack of papers in his hands.

Oh, right. The third meeting that I wasn't going to worry about until it was absolutely necessary.

I couldn't hate Past-Edward more than I did at that moment.

Jasper looked up and noticed me standing in the doorway. He displayed his mesmerizing smile, stood up and approached me.

I, on the other hand, held back a look of terror, fought against my knees buckling and felt my whole body freeze.

"You ready Mr. Cullen?"

_God I hope so._

_

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_**Hope you all enjoyed!**

**Next chapter: Jasper's POV  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the awesome reviews and to everyone who added this to their favs/alerts. Now, why did this take so long to be posted? I blame the following things: Work and my ridiculous schedule which is changing soon so at least there's that. Also, Jasper for being so much more difficult to write than Edward. Which says what about me? That I can relate to Edward more—scary : )**

**Huge thanks to sapphirescribe and cocoalvin for betaing this chapter for me, answering all my questions and pretty much kicking my butt into gear so I could finish the chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

**

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**

**Chapter Six: Laliophobia**

_Edward and I on the conference table. Edward and I on my desk. Edward and I in the copy room. Edward and I in the… Wait, no! This needs to stop. _

Yes, it needed to stop and by that, I meant my train of thought but also the elevator that I was still apparently on. I didn't even remember Edward leaving the damn elevator and here I was, riding it back down because I was still caught up with the images that Edward put in my brain.

I needed to get my act together. I couldn't turn into some drooling obsessive individual every time Edward mentioned something sexual.

Well…not that it happened often, but that wasn't the point. I wanted to talk to Edward and the first time he actually started to speak back to me, I couldn't formulate a decent response.

The funny thing was that for a split second I thought he was propositioning me. I think my desperation had reached new heights. To think that he was hitting on _me_, I could laugh out loud.

I barely even registered on his radar.

However, all was not lost. Sure, I may have made a complete fool of myself, making a mountain out of a molehill, however my goal was complete. I'd had an actual conversation with Edward Cullen.

Next step in the plan: don't make a complete fool of myself.

I was somewhat mad that was even a goal. Never, and boy do I mean never, did I have to worry about my actions in such a way. _I_ was the catch. _I _was cool, calm and collected. Now, I, Jasper Whitlock, needed to be sure that I didn't embarrass myself. Did I fall down some rabbit hole? Was I in some alternate universe where I was having trouble picking up gay men?

Move over Stella, I lost my groove. I smacked myself in the forehead. Now I was referencing chick flicks. This day couldn't get worse.

The elevator dinged; I realized I hadn't made any attempts in returning to my floor. The elevator doors opened and I groaned softly.

_My day just got worse. _

"Oh, hey Mr. Whitlock!" Riley practically screeched with his insincere smile plastered on his ridiculous looking face. He pushed his absurd little mail cart onto the elevator, successfully making me move over into the corner even though there was plenty of room.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with him today.

Riley may or may not have suspected that I had a crush on Mr. Cullen. I couldn't tell you where he'd get that idea as I'd only interacted with him and Edward on a couple of occasions, and I tried not to be overt or obvious in my desire for Edward. I do believe myself to be quite the smooth individual, but perhaps Riley was more perceptive than I gave him credit for. No, he was obviously just projecting his own feelings and insecurities onto someone else to make up for the fact that Edward would not go out with him.

I was seriously turning into some love sick individual. I needed to suck it up and just respond to the little imbecile.

_How long can one elevator ride be?_

"Hello, Riley."

_See? Nice and short. I can be pleasant if I have to and it's not like he holds anything over me. _

"What a coincidence. I was just heading to your floor."

"Oh, do you have any mail for me?"

_Look, more pleasantries. I'm on a roll. _

"Let me see," Riley said, searching through his cart. "Right, here we go. You have one small package."

My fake smile fell while Riley smirked handing me the said package. I was _not _in the mood.

"Oh, and let me guess, you have a big package in there yourself."

"Oh no," he said, looking down briefly, "but I do have a big package for Mr. Cullen."

Riley turned and looked toward the elevator. It was a good thing too because if he continued looking at me with that stupid smile, I would have hit him.

Thankfully, for his sake, the elevator opened up and I quickly left his presence. I really didn't need to be fired and Riley was surely pushing my buttons.

What I needed was a moment or two to not think about Edward Cullen. He changed me from a composed individual to a frantic, obsessive man who wanted to pummel on the stupid mail room guy.

I _would_ call Peter for advice, but I was pretty sure all he would do was laugh at me some more.

I took big strides trying to get my office as fast as possible.

I tried to avoid eye contact with everyone, not wanting to start any conversation. All I needed was to make it to my office, sit alone and think.

When my door came into view, I almost yelled out with relief. I just needed to get away and think. Whether it was to think about Edward or not, I just didn't want to be around anyone.

"Mr. Whitlock!"

I froze in the doorway after hearing the shrill voice scream out. Turning around slowly, I saw my assistant running down the hallway.

_Almost made it._

"Yes, Jessica?"

She finally caught up to me and stopped to catch her breath. She reached out and clenched my arm to help her stay upright while she breathed heavily. I restrained from rolling my eyes. My assistant knew I was gay and yet she had asked me out multiple times and used every chance there was to touch me.

After catching her breath, she smiled—and still held onto my arm.

"I just wanted to let you know that Kate called to say that Emmett would be leaving for a meeting this afternoon."

I pulled out of Jessica's death grip and took two steps back. "Okay…" I said, hesitantly. I didn't understand why she was telling me what she and the other assistants talked about during their lunch break.

"So, you won't be having your meeting with him this afternoon."

"Oh, right. Okay, just let me know when you reschedule it to. Anytime this week works for me."

I turned around and headed toward my chair.

"No, you're still having the meeting today."

"I thought you said…"

"No silly, you're having your meeting but it's just not with Emmett."

_Then that means…_

"You're having it with Edward Cullen."

O . o . O . o . O

I wouldn't lie; I could not be more nervous. I felt as if everything I had been working for over the last month to get Edward's attention was finally reaching the pivotal moment. I knew in my gut if there wasn't some sort of progress after being in his _office,_ alone with _him_, then all hope was lost.

Gripping the papers I was holding, I decided that it was best to do some mindless task and rearrange them, so I didn't have to think about what was about to happen or the fact that this might be my last day of actively pursuing after Edward Cullen.

Then I could just go back to pining for him from a distance and slowly wait for this silly infatuation to pass.

Seemed easy enough.

Like a moth to the flame, my attention was immediately drawn to Edward who was standing in his office doorway, staring intensely at me. Before I could even stop it, my lips turned up into a smile.

_God, he was gorgeous._

Yeah…I could see my possible plan of ignoring him in the future was _completely _going to work.

_Oh well, if I'm going to hell anyways might as well enjoy it._

I stood up confidently and walked toward the man I haven't stopped thinking about in months.

I could have been making it up, I could have been imagining it; however, for one split second, it seemed as though he looked…nervous? No, that was silly. Why would he be nervous?

Not for one second did I think he was going to make the first move. Nothing from the last couple of months indicated that might be the case.

It was finally time to put up or shut up.

"You ready, Mr. Cullen?"

He nodded—I hadn't expected anything more of a response—and he stepped aside to let me pass.

"You can have a seat." I heard him say quietly.

I wanted to laugh, or scream in joy, whatever seemed less crazy. He was going to _have _to talk to me; there was no way around it.

_Wait, am I happy that a man who'd obviously rather not talk to me is forced to talk to me?_

Yes, I have issues.

After taking a seat in his chair, he cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. At first nothing came out. His mouth snapped shut. Closing his eyes, Edward took a deep breath.

"If you excuse me, I am unaware of how you and Emmett usually run your meetings. This meeting was only brought to my attention a couple hours ago and I haven't had much time to prepare."

He ended his statement with another heavy sigh, but what puzzled me was that he seemed relieved, his lips curving up into a small smirk, almost as if he was pleased with himself.

What I would give to know what went through his mind.

I was overly pleased that we were finally conversing. Maybe I had gotten somewhere, maybe my _accidental_ run-ins with him actually paid off.

Almost simultaneously, I realized two things. First, I really _did_ sound like a school boy with a crush; next thing I knew, I would be dropping a pen to have him pick it up so our hands could slightly touch when he gave it back to me.

I froze then shook my head. _No, I don't care that I have a pen in my hand and that option is entirely possible. I will not be _that _guy._

The second realization I had—which was worse than the first, if you could believe it—was while I was thinking all these very pertinent things, an awkward silence filled the room.

When I made eye contact with him, he averted his eyes quickly and looked down at his desk. He picked up a pen and started to click the top repeatedly.

Well, the mystery was solved. It was clear why Edward didn't find me attractive—I act like a complete idiot. I waited _months_ for him to talk to me, and what do I do when the moment has finally arrived?

I stared at him like I was a patient who had gone comatose.

I gripped the papers a little too hard and sat up in my seat. "Yes, right. Well, I usually show Emmett what we are currently working on, and look over what our department is doing and what we are going to be doing. Umm…I guess he just asks me questions as we go, it really doesn't take that long."

Tensing at the end of my own sentence, I realized how that sounded.

_He probably won't think that though. I'm probably overreacting. _

Edward's shoulders sagged and he turned toward his computer, clicking the mouse every couple of seconds.

"No need to worry, Mr. Whitlock. I will be sure to have you out of here at an appropriate time."

_Okay, maybe he _did _think that._

O . o . O . o . O

The next hour proceeded to be the most awkward encounter ever.

I meant it too. It surpassed the previous record holding memory of my father finding out I was gay; and _that_ moment had me and my counterpart almost nude in the middle of doing something rather indecent—on the living room couch.

It felt as if I was playing a game. I kept trying to make eye contact with Edward, and he was playing his own game of looking at everything that wasn't me.

He was winning.

Have I mentioned the fact that I hate losing? If not…well, I _hate_ losing. And if there was a game that I didn't want to lose, this was it.

It was time to play hard ball.

I tuned back in to what Edward was saying, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Are these numbers here a projected value or—"

"Did you always want to work for your father?"

Apparently, the right moment to strike was flat, right in the middle of Edward's sentence and consisted of me blurting out the first personal question that I could think of.

_Where is the smooth, calm and collected Jasper that I supposedly am? I really miss him._

Edward's eyes widened at my question, probably in complete shock at my rudeness and inappropriateness.

"I'm sorry, wait…what? You…um, what?"

Shit.

_I turned this gorgeous intellectual in a babbling mess. _

I felt horrible. Edward always seemed so well put together. It appeared as if he didn't have a thing that was out of place in his life: a successful job, a great body, a close family, a great body… plus, more that I surely didn't know about.

His life seemed the complete opposite of mine.

My parents traveled and ended up settling down in the south. The only family I had around was my half-sister, Charlotte, but she was always out of town due to her job. I hadn't been in a relationship since Peter and I'm not doing a great job in pursuing my next one. I should be more focused on my career but I'm too busy staring at the boss's son to advance professionally as fast as I could.

_Yes, I'm sure I have issues._

I had to fix this. I didn't know how of course, because apparently I'd lost the ability to act like a regular human being.

When I was with Edward, it was almost as if all the blood rushed from my brain and traveled someplace else.

"Oh, sorry if that is too personal of a question. I was just curious. It seems almost as if the whole Cullen family works here." I laughed nervously, trying with all my might to _not_ smack myself in the head.

"Oh, well…no, just my father, brother and I. My mother is in charge of several fundraisers and my sister is a professional photographer."

I, of course, knew this. In one of my many steps in becoming an official Edward Cullen stalker, I had looked up common-knowledge information on—the company; yes, I did it to be prepared. Everyone already knew a lot about the Cullens and I was just coming up to par. At least, that was what I told myself.

It had nothing to do with the fact that during my first couple of weeks at the company I _coincidentally_ noticed a young attractive woman entering Edward's office around 12:05, who did not leave until 1:15.

Sure, this was before I knew Edward was gay. Sure, I was a tad embarrassed that said girl happened to be his twin sister. Sure, I felt even more ridiculous when I eventually found out he preferred men over women.

Did I regret my decision? Of course not.

Like I stated, I definitely have issues.

"Oh, right." Apparently that was my brilliant response.

Edward cleared his throat again and shuffled the papers on his desk.

It became my turn to not maintain eye contact. My plan was going down the drain and it was entirely my fault. I finally had Edward talking and I had turned into someone I didn't recognize: an unsure individual severely lacking in social skills.

_I should just admit defeat and call it good. _

"Um…well, how about you? What made you decide to work here?"

My head snapped up, startled that Edward asked me a question—of his own free will.

This wasn't the time to stare at him in awe. It was time to answer him like any other ordinary person would.

"I heard a lot of wonderful things about the company and thought that it would be a wonderful place to work at. Oh, and it has a lot of wonderful people."

_Jesus…if I say wonderful one more time I may just have to hit my wonderful head against the wonderful desk. How can I save this? I really can't. I'm just going to smile at him and pretend I didn't speak. _

Edward stilled for a moment, and then shook his head. It almost looked as if his face reddened.

Clearing his throat, he grabbed the stack of papers and straightened them out. "Yes, well, you picked the right place."

"I agree."

_What happened to just smiling and nodding? _

"Well, back to these reports. Are these numbers here a projected value or an accounting of the past quarter value?"

"Let me see."

I stood up and walked around the desk so that I could see which spreadsheet he was referencing. I placed one arm on the desk and leaned over one of Edward's shoulders. Edward slightly tensed, but other than that showed no signs of discomfort.

"Oh, yes. That is the projected value for the next quarter."

I reached over to get a closer look of the reports. However, before I could, Edward quickly stood up and brushed past me. I didn't know what freaked him out but I'd never seen him move so fast.

"Thank you, Mr. Whitlock. I will look over the rest of these when I have a chance. I must get going."

Edward practically sprinted toward the door and placed his hand on the knob, no doubt waiting for me to get close enough so he could usher me out of the door.

I tried to ignore the feeling of in the pit of my stomach. It was certainly due to lunch, not any sort of emotional crap eating away at me because Edward couldn't wait for me to get out of his sight. Nope, nothing along those lines.

Dejectedly, I picked up my jacket and threw it on. I reached over to grab the pile of papers I brought and made sure to leave him with the necessary information. It was time to leave here before I did anything else that may cause me embarrassment. I needed to give up any notion that I had toward the idea of he and I together and leave his office with my dignity intact.

If only that was the case. Not more than two steps were taken before I stumbled slightly and let go of all the papers in my grasp.

Sighing, I crouched down and hurried to pick up the papers. I contemplated leaving them and just booking it out the door. However, I thought that might seem a little _too _crazy.

I had gathered most of the papers when another stack was placed in my vision. I looked up to see Edward crouching down to help me pick up the papers. Hesitantly, I reached out to grab them and we both stood up simultaneously. I noticed he was slightly less flustered than he was in the previous moments.

I smiled a thank you, too worried to say anything at the moment. Then Edward did something that I hadn't ever seen him do, well, at least not to me. He smiled a genuine smile. I was so enraptured, I was so surprised, that I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late.

My lips were on his. I was kissing Edward Cullen! Honestly, I didn't know how I got from point A to point B, but trust me, when I felt my lips moving against his soft ones, I knew I had missed something vital.

Edward's body became very stiff. Only part of mine did. Once I was able to think straight, I pulled back to see Edward with the most startled look on his face. Gone was that wonderful smile. What came was a deer in the headlights look. His eyes very well could have come out of the sockets. His mouth hung slightly open.

I thought it was best _not_ to look at one particular piece of anatomy at the risk of a repeat action.

Stepping back I realized the full weight of what I'd just done. I didn't give him time to act. I didn't try to explain myself. Hell, I didn't even take the damn papers that caused the course of action to occur. Instead, I quickly dropped everything and hightailed it out of there—fast!

Yup, I'd made a fool of myself. I'd probably just lost my job. I'd pushed myself on the boss's son. When all I'd wanted to do was talk to Edward Cullen.

That probably could have gone a little better.

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**Hope you all enjoyed!**

**Next chapter: Edward's family dinner**

**Short Preview:**

After my head bounced off the glass separating me from the taxi driver, I realized I had arrived at my parent's home and hastily exited the vehicle. After one tip, plenty of hand sanitizer and a long walk up the path toward the house, I was ready for my torturous day to continue.

I wasn't much of a drinker but for the love of my sanity, there better be a nice cold pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade waiting with my name on it.


	7. Chapter 7

**I know. I'm not doing very well with my updating. Every time I think I will have more free time, life gets a tad more complicated. **

**As usual, big thanks to ****sapphirescribe and cocoalvin for betaing this chapter for me. It would be a mess without them. :)**

**Also, thanks to everyone who read and added this to their favorites. Reading the reviews puts a huge smile on my face. **

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Seven: ****Amaxophobia**

The taxi was small and the opposite of everything I stood for—which happened to be clean, open spaces. Not a cramped spot, where _God _only knew how many people had sat with whatever disease infested their bodies. Not being thrown up against the door every time the taxi driver made an abrupt turn. And lastly, it was certainly _not_ safe; the seat belt was ripped out of the seat!

It must certainly be against state regulations.

You may wonder why exactly I was risking my health and livelihood by making a death-defying journey in a death-defying vehicle.

The answer was as obvious as my hatred for all things of the sea.

I didn't trust myself behind the wheel.

It wasn't because I was very intoxicated—because that was going to have to come up later tonight. It wasn't because I couldn't think straight. Honestly, could anyone after being kissed by Jasper?

I couldn't stop thinking about it. His lips against my lips. I didn't think it was possible for a guy's lips to feel so soft. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel his hand coming up to the side of my face, clutching it and pulling it closer to maintain as much contact as possible. For a split second, his hips were pressed up against mine, and I couldn't even explain to you what was going through my head.

Seriously, I couldn't. I think it was Italian or some other language I studied in college.

_Now only to figure out what I said…_

Abruptly, the taxi driver made another quick turn, forcing my head to collide painfully with the window.

This was exactly why I didn't want to be behind the wheel. It really was for everyone's safety, as much as my own. If I wasn't paying attention during my ride of terror, then I wasn't fit to be behind the wheel.

My mind could not stop rethinking and rehashing everything that had occurred between Jasper and I. Every way he'd touched me, the feel of his skin, and the motives behind his actions.

It didn't matter though, because no matter how wonderful, how magnificent, how incredible that moment had felt, it was nothing compared to the crushing feeling the next moment had brought upon me.

Almost as soon as it had happened, the embrace I'd had with Jasper had ended. It'd taken me a moment to catch my bearings, before the floodgate of questions had opened up in my mind.

As soon as I'd opened my eyes, all I could see for one brief moment was Jasper's back as he'd opened my office door and left my office.

_Why did it stop? Heck, why did it start to begin with? When can it happen again? When can it happen after that? _

Most importantly, what did this mean? I'd never thought once that Jasper was gay. _Wouldn't I be able to tell? Shouldn't I be able to tell? What kind of gay man did that make me? I've heard people mention "gaydar" before, does that mean mine is broken?_

I gasped. A horrible thought passed through my mind. What if Jasper wasn't gay? What if he sensed my attraction to him and thought he had to reciprocate because of me being the boss's son?

_Could it be?_

My eyes widened. I gripped my hair tightly with both hands. How could I have forgotten? The conversation I had with Jasper in the elevator.

I was talking about _sex_ with Jasper in the _office. _Oh, for the love of God. That, _plus_ whatever sort of lustful feelings I was projecting. Jasper had probably thought I was hinting at him to _perform_ such acts upon me. How could I be so idiotic? Even Michael Newton wouldn't do such an imbecilic thing.

That _must_ explain why he stormed out. Yes, it all made sense. He thought he had to go through with such a lewd act and after attempting to perform said act, he was so turned off by it that he had to flee. I shook my head while my heart clenched. It was as if a giant jigsaw puzzle was finally coming together.

Normally, I liked jigsaw puzzles, but I certainly did _not _like this one.

It was the only explanation that could possibly make sense. What was the other outcome? Jasper Whitlock being attracted—to _me_?

If my heart wasn't shattered into tiny dangerous fragments then I would have laughed. What a preposterous thought. What would Jasper Whitlock see in me?

If he liked me in any sort of romantic way, then certainly I would know.

After my head bounced off the glass partition separating me from the taxi driver, I realized I had arrived at my parent's home and hastily exited the vehicle. After one tip, plenty of hand sanitizer and a long walk toward the house, I was ready for my tortuous day to continue.

I wasn't much of a drinker but for the love of my sanity, there better be a nice cold pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade waiting with my name on it.

O . o . O . o . O

I slipped in through the front door, hoping my entrance would go temporarily unnoticed by either one of my parents. Honestly, I couldn't stand my father's worry or my mother hounding about when I would find the right person and start a family. If I heard one more talk about the wonder of adopting when I finally settled down, then I was going to have another panic attack.

At least neither one of them would be asking about my recent session with Dr. Hunter. It used to be that I would have a scheduled appointment with him the day before our family dinner. So, instead of my siblings and me sharing the reluctant spotlight, it became a one-man show named, _Let's Pry into Edward's Life._

I'd put a stop to that fast and scheduled my weekly session _after _the family interrogation… I mean dinner.

Slowly, I walked toward the door connecting the living room to the dining room and peeked around the corner.

"They're upstairs."

I jumped, turned around and placed a hand to my heart.

"Oh, my arteries, Alice! You are going to give me a heart attack."

Alice scoffed. "Hardly, with the kind of food you eat and the way you exercise, I doubt it." She grinned and took a sip of her wine.

"Started already?"

Alice rolled her eyes and took another sip. "You would have too if you were here when I arrived. Watch out, Mom is going full force tonight. She already started asking me about any prospects that I may have."

After a nervous chuckle, I second-guessed agreeing to come to dinner. "Really? What pray tell did you say to her this time?"

"That within my travels I have been seeing a lovely accountant, long-distance, named Clint."

"And the true story really is…" I trailed off, motioning her to continue.

Her grin grew in size and she stepped closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. "While I was doing a shoot in Italy, I met a model named Demetri."

"A model? Really, Alice? Isn't that against some photographer/model code of honor or something?"

She whacked my arm. "Hush now! He wasn't even _my _model and let me finish."

I reluctantly nodded. _I have a feeling I'm not going to like this story._

"As I was saying, I haven't seen him in over a month but we are maintaining contact and let me tell you this, Edward. He is something else."

_I bet._

"No really, he's sweet, he's charming and, I'm not over embellishing when I say this, but he has the _biggest_..."

My hands flew up to my ears and covered them. "Are you kidding me, Alice? I don't need to hear that." I didn't care if it was childish; I was two seconds away from humming to drown out her high-pitched voice. Scowling, she reached over and yanked my arms down.

"Geez, Edward. I was just going to say he had the biggest boat I've ever seen and we went out on it a couple of times."

"Oh, well… I apologize for my overreaction."

She gave one quick nod. "Apology accepted. However, his penis wasn't that bad either." She laughed, finishing off her glass.

_Oh my word! _

"Oh relax, Edward. At least I didn't say dick, I know how much that freaks you out when I say it."

_I need to sit down. _After finding my favorite chair, I sat down and took a couple of breaths to regain my sanity. I didn't even acknowledge Alice until I saw a Mike's Hard Lemonade floating in front of my face.

"Here, I got you this."

"Thanks." I happily grabbed the substance and began drinking.

"Wow. Slow down, Edward. I didn't mean to freak you out. I was just messing around earlier."

"No need to worry. It's not just you."

"Oh, is it…" I looked up after a moment to see why Alice trailed off. She looked off in the distance and was absentmindedly running her finger along the rim of her wineglass.

"Alice?"

"What?" She shook her head and broke free of whatever daze she was in. "Sorry, just got lost in thought. So, um… I'm guessing you heard who Carlisle and Esme are eating with tomorrow."

"Oh, _that_."

Honestly I had forgotten all about it. Certain _other_ situations had come up and I didn't even think about what's-his-name.

I looked to Alice and nodded. "Yeah, I heard. Haven't thought much about it actually."

"Oh, well me neither, barely at all. Who cares that they may be in town. But let me tell you this, if I see Jacob, I will make sure to beat him up for you," she said with determination while she clutched her fist together. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I didn't think about the fact that it was the first time in a while I'd heard anyone say _his_ name; I didn't think about how that had affected me in the past. I just pictured tiny little Alice up against a man that surely outweighed her, and her thinking she could do any damage to him at all.

Laughing softly, I nodded in agreement. "And if I see Seth, I will make sure to give him a stern talking to that will leave him shaking in his boots."

She scoffed. "I'm sure that will leave a lasting impression."

We both continued to drink in silence. Before I even realized it, I'd finished my first bottle.

_Wow, I never drink _this _fast. That's what I get for thinking about Jasper._

I stood up to get a second drink, but before I could exit the room Alice stopped me.

"Wait!" I turned around to see her give me a perplexed expression. "If the Blacks weren't what was bothering you before, what was?"

My mouth fell open and I could feel my stammer almost begin. I could not let that happen, if anyone could read my like a book it was my twin sister. I needed to squash it before the conversation turned into something else. However, before I could come up with anything, I was finally thrown a bone on the most stressful day of my life. The front door opened and out from around the corner, slowly crept Emmett. When he spotted us his shoulders sank with relief and he smiled.

"Good, they're not ready yet. You think I can get one drink in?"

O . o . O . o . O

It took all my strength. It took all my resilience. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to stand up and shout, "Jasper Whitlock kissed me!"

Why did I want to do that? I couldn't tell you. Nevertheless, there it was—on the tip of my tongue—wanting to be released. It wouldn't be as bad if I was alone, but no, I was with the last people with whom I wanted to share the news. Plus, an unsettling silence had filled the room. My family wasn't known as "the quiet types," so it was safe to presume something was off. Couldn't say I was best to determine what the problem was. Besides the fact that it was usually me, and I was being told what was wrong, I'd already had _two_ drinks and I was definitely feeling it.

They didn't call it Mike's _Hard_ Lemonade for nothing.

Looking over, I could tell Alice and Emmett were in the same boat as I. We _may_ have drunk a little too much prior to this dinner. If they were doing what I was doing, they were just trying to stay quiet and hope this didn't turn into the usual Cullen family disastrous event.

Of course, it was just a pipe dream. Either Carlisle or Esme were going to start interrogating… I mean conversing with one of us. It was just a matter of who it would be first.

"So, Emmett…" Carlisle began while I refrained from outwardly congratulating myself for not being the target. Emmett froze mid slurp of his soup, his eyes widened.

"Um, what's up, Dad?" He inquiring, patting his mouth with a napkin.

"How did the meeting with _Davis, Thomas & Moore_ go?"

"Oh, um, very well. Looks like we'll be doing business with them." Emmett ended with a grin and returned to his soup.

"Oh, that's wonderful, dear," Esme said, beaming at her youngest.

"Thanks, Mom," Emmett said, proudly. He loved the attention he received from everyone. I, on the other hand, loved nothing less, so I was happy to let him get it all.

"It must not have been all smooth sailing though, son."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, you left a little after lunch and you didn't return for the rest of the day. I figured you were intently trying to close the deal."

"I guess you could say that he closed two deals," Alice muttered under her breath. Emmett's eyes widened and he not-so-subtly kicked her under the table.

"Last time I text you," Emmett whispered toward Alice.

"Two deals? What is she talking about, Emmett?" Carlisle asked, putting down his spoon.

_Great. Here we go._

Emmett gave Alice a sideways glance, while she mouthed, "Sorry."

"Well, after the meeting, I just took one of the partners to a late lunch to thank them for the business and to answer any other questions."

"Which one?" Carlisle inquired, suspicion clearly heard in his voice.

"Um, Moore."

I nearly choked on my soup. "Irina Moore? You took out Irina Moore?"

Without giving him a chance to answer, Esme reached across to Emmett's arm and grasped it. "That's such good manners. I'm happy that you were polite and thanked your client. I'm sure that helped in closing your deal, honey."

Emmett eyed Carlisle, before hesitantly nodding. "Yes, it did."

It was pretty clear what he meant by "closing the deal." Well, it was pretty clear to everyone but Esme. This wouldn't have been the first time Emmett decided to have _relations_ with one of our clients, or another associate, or even his own secretary. Thank heavens he has Kate now, who has been married for five years, so that wasn't even an option between them.

"I hope your—_lunch meeting_, doesn't cost us anything in the future."

Carlisle stared at Emmett. I wasn't sure how this was going to play out. I was just extremely happy that I wasn't him. Emmett looked around nervously, his eyes darting from person to person, before finally landing on me.

_Crud. This isn't good._

"How are you, Edward. I didn't see you much today before I left. How did the meetings go? Anything interesting happen?"

_Jasper kissing me. Jasper Whitlock kissing me, Edward Cullen. Jasper Whitlock and I having sexual intercourse. Wait, that didn't happen. Well, at least outside my head it didn't. Not that I would be opposed to the idea if it did occur. Just down the road, _way _down the road, after a couple of dates or so; really, after we get to know each other. Wait, now what am I thinking about? That's never going to happen._

I glanced up to find my entire family staring at me with either perplexed or concerned expressions. _How long have I been silent? I really need to say something fast. Quick, the first thing that comes to mind… Jasper naked. Holy hell! Not that. Quick, I need something, they can't get suspicious._

"Alice is dating some guy from Italy!"

Esme gasped. Emmett smirked and all eyes went to Alice, whose expression was a mix between shock and anger.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"He's a model and his name is Domino!"

Alice scoffed. "It's Demetri!" Realization dawned on her. She gasped and covered her mouth. I felt extremely guilty. I didn't mean to blurt it out. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. That couldn't be normal. Heck, what am I thinking, that was nothing new. I was anything but normal.

I'd just add it to the ever-growing list.

Esme dramatically sighed. "Oh my! At this rate I will never get grandbabies!" She grabbed her wine glass and I opened up another Mike's Hard Lemonade. I knew I was already at my limit, but if there was ever a day that I could ignore that fact, today was it.

"Don't worry, Mom, even if Alice continues to date Donatello, you still have other kids to give you grandchildren," Emmett said, grinning at Alice who just scowled at him in return.

"She doesn't mean out of wedlock either, Emmett!" Carlisle exclaimed, successfully shutting my brother up.

More awkward silence passed, until we got to the dessert. I was almost in the clear. I was almost able to end the most stressful day of my life. However, I knew I shouldn't count my proverbial eggs before they hatched.

"Edward."

I swayed a little in my seat. I had to grip the side of the table. I definitely shouldn't have had the last drink. I had been too busy day-dreaming about Jasper. Wondering what his lips were doing right now. I mean what _he _was doing right now. It took all my talent, _not _to slur my words.

"Yes, Father?"

_Please say something like, "Pass the pepper." Sure, we were on dessert and there wasn't a dessert that I could think of that needed pepper, but a man can dream._

"I noticed you have been awfully quiet today."

I scrunched my eyebrows together and glanced around the room. We'd all been quiet. Plus, today I seemed to be blurting out everything, and I did mean everything that had been coming to my mind. It was only logical for me not to speak so I didn't bring up any of Jasper's anatomical parts, which seemed to be my favorite thought at the moment.

I decided a shoulder shrug would be best in answering him.

Carlisle sighed and abandoned his half eaten dessert. He turned in his chair to face me directly.

"I know it had to be quite the shock today."

_Huh? _

Noticing my expression, Carlisle continued, "In your office earlier."

I froze. My eyes widening. _I just _knew_ there had to be cameras in the office. How else would he know about Jasper? Oh dear lord! The things he must have seen. And to think that Angela reassured me there were no bugs. _

"Dad, we don't need to discuss this now, do we?" Alice said, with a sigh.

"Sorry, honey. I know this bothers you, too. However, with the Blacks returning home and with your mother and me reacquainting ourselves with them, I don't want your brother to take any steps back in his progress."

"Wait a second here. This is about Ja—, the Bla—, them?"

_Did I just hiccup? _

"Of course, your mother and I think it would be great if you see Dr. Hunter more than once a week. Just in case this affects you negatively."

Maybe it was because of my horrible day. Maybe it was because Jasper had kissed me earlier. Maybe, and most likely, it was due to the fact that I had consumed a lot of alcohol. I just knew I was tired of it all.

I stood up fast, which caused me to wobble. Not wanting to lose any of my determination, I gripped the table again for support.

"No, I will not."

Another silence filled the room; however, this time it was due to shock.

_Focus Edward. Focus on your words…and not throwing up._

It was hard to think about what exactly I wanted to say. My mind was all cloudy and swirly and… And well, it was just difficult to think. So, I just said the first thing that popped in my head.

"Nothing is wrong with being a little different."

I felt like I'd heard that somewhere recently. It seemed to fit at the time but with the strange looks I was getting from everyone, maybe I was wrong. A minute or two passed and still no one was looking away from me or saying anything. It was worse than that dream when I showed up to work dressed up as one of the village people. You could only perform _Y.M.C.A. _so many times until you got tired of the song.

It was time to enact plan B, which just happened to be leaving the vicinity immediately. Sure, the plan could have been better, but I didn't hope for much since I thought of it a whole five seconds prior.

It wasn't until I was outside that I realized two things. I'd forgotten my jacket and I hadn't driven here.

_And so continues my less than stellar night._

O . o . O . o . O

After another horrifying ride back in a cab, and a not-so-good night's sleep, I was at work the next day. I arrived early, knowing that no matter what, I needed to speak with Jasper. I didn't know what exactly occurred yesterday and my hangover was really getting to me, but I needed to make it clear to Jasper that whatever occurred yesterday was a misunderstanding and apologize for giving off any vibes of a sexual nature. However, it seemed that Jasper wasn't in on this plan.

"What do you mean you can't call Jasper, um, Mr. Whitlock, to come down to my office?"

Angela looked at me with a small smile. "Apparently, he called in to take a personal day."

_Personal day? What does that mean? Personal, as in he is getting personal with someone else or personal, as in he is gathering lawyers together to sue me for sexual harassment? Either way, this isn't good._

"Oh, well… That's fine. On an unrelated note, do you mind mailing me a copy of all the mailing addresses for the executive staff."

"Sure, Mr. Cullen."

I took two steps toward my office and halted, backtracking, I added, "Oh, and on a third unrelated note, I will be taking an early lunch and I might be a tad longer than usual."

Angela's smile widened. "That's fine, Mr. Cullen. You don't have anything scheduled for today anyways."

With that, she winked at me and turned around, humming to herself as she plugged away at the computer. My eyes narrowed in her direction. I wondered if she knew I was lying.

It was time to prepare for my next encounter and hopefully not have an anxiety attack over what was to come.

Pulling up in front of the unknown building, I knew, deep down, that I should have been more frightened. However, for the first time, my determination overpowered my fear. I wanted answers and I was going to go get them. Or, if it was my fault, I was going to beg for forgiveness and hope that he didn't sue the company.

Whichever it was, I was there. Standing in front of the door labeled 3B—this particular door that apparently housed the one known as Jasper Whitlock.

I tried my best not to falter, not to throw up, not to make a complete fool of myself. I knew I had to push myself and just do it.

I raised my hand, brought it forward and lightly tapped twice on the door.

_One Mississippi… Two Mississippi…_

Oh well, would you look at that, no one was home. Guess I couldn't resolve the situation. I supposed that Jasper would be suing me now. Glad I had good lawyers.

Turning to the right I made a single step before the door flew open.

_Oh dear lord, I might be having a heart attack._

"Hello?"

_Wait, that wasn't the usual harmonious voice I grown accustom to hearing. _

Turning back, my green eyes made contact with unfamiliar brown eyes.

"Umm… Sorry, I was looking for Jasper Whitlock. I guess I have the wrong place."

"Nope, you're right. Why don't you come on in while I go get him?"

"Umm…"

"Oh, where are my manners. The name is Peter and you are?"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you are waiting for them to actually sit down and talk, then you don't have to wait much longer. (The next chapter)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Huge thanks to ****sapphirescribe and cocoalvin for betaing this chapter for me. You're both awesome, but you knew that. : )  
**

**Also, thanks to everyone who read and added this to their favorites. And can I just say that I love your reviews! Most of you crack me up.**

**I'm doing better with the updates, I'll see if I can keep that up. Though, I will be trying to write an entry for the vampslash contest if I have time. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: ****Allodoxaphobia**

**Jasper POV**

I groaned and stretched my arms above my head. _Ugh. What happened? Why do I feel so confined? Why does my back hurt? More importantly, what in God's name happened last night?_

Let's see: Fuzzy memory? Check. Killer headache? Check. Waking up in unknown location? Check. Strange underlying feeling that once I remember what exactly occurred last night that I will want to forget it again? Check. Well, this one seems easy enough to diagnose. I drank myself silly last night.

_Hope I didn't do anything stupid. _

"Has the princess finally awoken from her slumber?"

I sat up in surprise, doing it a little _too _quickly for my liking. There were a couple of things I noticed at first. Apparently, I was sitting on the couch in my apartment. Somehow I became wrapped up in my green blanket, which made me resemble a freakishly large caterpillar. After untangling myself, I caught sight of a trash can to my right, three empty bottles of water, and a very smug looking Peter sitting on the chair across from me.

The underlying feeling I had about _not _wanting to remember what happened last night just increased tenfold.

I didn't know why he was here. I didn't know what he witnessed. Hell, I didn't know much of what happened last night at all. However, there was one thing for sure I did know: I wasn't going to like it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. My tone was meant to sound strong and demanding, but it came out weak and raspy.

_Good job, Jasper._

Peter chuckled, then leaned forward and placed his arms on his knees. After a couple of agonizing seconds, he finally spoke.

"What? You don't remember? After the way you held me, all the promises you made last night too…"

"What! Did we? Did you?"

_This can't be happening. _

Peter burst out laughing. "Jesus, Jasper. You _are _funny like this. I've said it once, I'll say it again: I really need to meet this Edward guy. Anyone who could turn the overly-cocky Jasper Whitlock into well, this," Peter gestured toward me with his hand. "Well, he has to be something special."

After my heart returned to normal from the cardiac arrest it was in, I could finally breathe easy.

"So, we didn't, you know…"

"Have sex? What you can't even say it now?" Peter laughed again. While I normally would have gotten up and walked over to hit him, I was finding it difficult just to sit upright.

_I'll just hit him later._

After a couple of minutes went by, and his laughter died down, he finally shook his head. "No Jasper, you and I didn't 'do the deed.' You know very well, that I have been in a committed relationship with Randall for the past couple of months."

_Oh, right. _

"Then why are you here?"

His face lit up, as he reached into his pocket.

_This can't be good._

"Well, instead of telling you, I'll have you take a listen."

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit a few buttons before holding the object up. I wasn't expecting what I heard—my brain was running less than par at the moment—however, I shouldn't have been shocked.

It was, a _very _drunk me, babbling on Peter's voice mail that he so happened to place on speaker phone.

"Peter! Peter. Pete—err! It's Jasper. Hey. Um, let's see. Why did I call? Oh, right! I may have done an isty bitsy mistake type thing. No biggie. I may or may not have frenched my boss, yup. Oh! I also probably got fired. Don't know, since I ran away after I kissed him. He's a good kissah by the way. I wonder what he thinks of me. Hmm."

There was a long silence and I thought my humiliation had ended; however, I was completely and utterly wrong.

"You know what! Screw him. I'm a catch, right? Edward doesn't know what he's missing. Him and his crazed sex hair. I bet he's having sex right now and you know what I'm fine with it. Yup, I couldn't feel better."

Another long pause came over the phone then I heard some movement over the phone, followed by a loud crash. Had I fallen into something?

"It's my hair right? Is it too blond? You would tell me right. Oh, never mind. But, it's my hair, isn't it? Wait, what is that? Smells like smoke. That's not how Edward smells. I'm gonna go."

After some more rustling and another loud crash, the message turned off. Peter's smile did nothing but grow through the entire message.

_Smug asshole. _

I cleared my throat, finding it hard to find the right words.

"Yes," Peter said, leaning back in his chair.

"Excuse me?"

"To answer your question, yes, it is your hair. How do you even go out like that?" he said, smiling, then he ducked as I threw the closest pillow at him. "Oh, and you throw like a girl."

He would get it in a second; I just needed to build up my strength before I could successfully pummel him. I fell back and closed my eyes, trying to will my headache away.

"In all seriousness though. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, but um, thanks for coming over. I hope Randall doesn't mind."

"Nah, he's fine with it, especially after listening to the message with me. We didn't want you burning down your apartment. Next time you feel like tater tots, make them when you're sober, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, because that is my biggest worry right now: tater tots."

"Now, get your ass up and get in the shower. I'll call your work and get you the day off."

I scoffed. "Your voice sounds nothing like mine."

Peter arched his eyebrow and laughed. "I think I can handle it, now go!"

I begrudgingly, and slowly, stood up and headed for the shower.

_At least I can't make any more of a fool of myself today. _

O . o . O . o . O

**Edward POV**

_Peter? Peter? Who is this "Peter?" If that is his real name? Sure he _seems_ friendly enough, but is that a good thing? I think not! Friendly to me means he's probably being extra friendly to Jasper with a little side of sexual intercourse!_

I eyed this "Peter" up and down.

_What is wrong with him? His smile hasn't faltered and I have been standing here mute for well over one minute and thirty-six seconds. Any normal person would question why I was sitting here in silence and find it weird that I haven't answered his question. I wonder if Jasper realizes the kind of people he is associating with. _

"Wait, let me take a guess. You wouldn't happen to be Edward, would you?"

Well, that didn't help my silence one bit. If anything, it stunned me into further silence. I hoped it wasn't permanent. It wouldn't leave me with many job choices, and I didn't think I would be a good mime. That required actual people to _look _at you to make money. Plus, my face was pale enough, adding that white paint would just be overkill.

Apparently this "Peter" took my silence as a yes, because he stepped aside and waved his hand in a welcoming gesture. Since I had no control over my mouth, it didn't surprise me that my legs were acting on their own accord. Before I even knew it, I was inside Jasper's apartment.

I looked around in awe, not that there was anything in particular that was special but at the same time everything was. I had pictured being in Jasper's place of residence a couple—or forty-three—times.

"He'll be out in a second."

I was broken out of my trance when what's-his-name spoke. I glared at his back as he made his way over to the living room. Never once did I picture a third individual when I was in Jasper's home. Peter sat in the chair and gestured for me to take a seat as well. I notice he tended to gesture a lot. Maybe it was an annoying quirk he did, or more likely he was doing it because I didn't seem to respond to anything verbal.

Well, since I found myself sitting on the couch across from him, then I guessed he was correct, which only made me hate him more.

Not that I hated him to begin with. No, why would I? He was just here, in Jasper's apartment, being with Jasper—first thing in the morning. Why would that make me hate him?

_I'm sure he's just an overfriendly, gesture making, seemingly attractive cable guy—or something. _

A couple of minutes passed, and finally, after making a list of all the things Peter could be to Jasper, the reality of what was happening came down upon me. I was _in _Jasper's apartment, sitting across from some guy named Peter, waiting for Jasper to appear, the day after we _kissed_ in my office.

_What am I thinking?_

Plus, the silence was killing me. I needed to say something. I couldn't seem like _too_ much of a crazy person. I wouldn't want to scare off Jasper's… Cousin? Brother? Accountant?

"Yes, I'm Edward," I responded, only about ten minutes too late.

_Could have been worse._

He smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "I figured as much. If anything gave it away, it was the hair."

"My hair?"

He shrugged. "I've heard it described before."

_What is that supposed to mean?_ I reached up to touch my head, wondering if something was out of place, however before I could dwell on it for too long, I heard movement come from my left.

"Peter, I think I need some more…" Jasper halted by the doorway, his eyes locked with mine. I stood up quickly and froze, realizing I didn't know what to do. Every encounter I'd had with him previously did not even come close to the amount of anxiety that I felt in this moment.

"Oh, Jasper. You have a guest," Peter said a little _too_ nonchalantly. "Now that I got to witness this _encounter_, I'm going to go ahead and leave. So, I'll see you around." I heard his retreating footsteps and the door closing.

And so began the most excruciating staring contest in the history of my life. It was even worse than the time I watched E.T. as a child and I was afraid to close my eyes. I figured the second I did, E. T. would appear in my room and frighten me. Per usual, my parents became concerned with my lack of blinking and sleep. Honestly, was it _that_ odd someone didn't sleep for two days?

"Mr. Cullen, um, hello."

_Oh, right. I need to speak to him and explain why I am here. I should have written out note cards. _

I nodded once. "Good morning, Mr. Whitlock."

I was so happy that I didn't mess it up that I would have cheered; that was, if I didn't feel like throwing up so much.

Jasper nervously chuckled. "You can call me, Jasper."

_Oh my! He just told me to call him Jasper! Okay, don't faint or babble like an idiot. _

"Umm, well… Yeah. Okay, Jasper."

_Mission failed. _

What was I supposed to do now? Was it okay to run? Times like this, I had to ask the most important, the most helpful question. W. W. A. D?

What would Angela do?

After another moment of blatantly starring at each other, Jasper finally moved, his shoulders slumped, while his head hung low. He took a deep breath looked back up at me and smiled. "Do you want to take a seat?"

With only three big strides, Jasper made it next to the couch and sat down. I numbly followed suit. This was the closest I had ever sat next to him. If I just stretched my hand out, I could have grasped his. Not that I was _going_ to or anything, but I _could_ have. I almost smiled at the thought, but I held it back due to the serious nature of my visit.

He very well could be compiling a law suit against the company, more specifically me. I needed to rectify the situation.

I opened my mouth but halted my steps when Jasper spoke. His head hung low again and he watched his finger trace alone the seam on the couch.

"You can get it over with if you want. I know why you are here."

So, he figured out that _I_ figured out _his_ plans. I needed to move fast.

I nodded slowly, took a deep breath and stated the first thing that came to mind.

"I apologize."

"Yeah, I figured as much…" He trailed off and his head snapped up to look at me. "Wait, what?"

"I apologize that my actions early yesterday in the elevator made it seem that I was expecting anything sexual to occur between us. It was entirely a misunderstanding and I do apologize for putting you in that position."

Jasper continued to stare. "Wait, what?"

I stood up and paced, unable to look at those perfect blue eyes. "I hope you don't think badly of me. I didn't mean it to come out that way or imply that I wanted anything _sexual_ out of our encounter."

I blamed my desire to read random facts and my bad habit of shouting out random things. Of course, I couldn't have yelled out a sex-free comment that I read. Who wouldn't want to know that the North Atlantic gets one inch wider every year, or that if you're right-handed you could live up to nine years longer than a lefty?

I heard Jasper stand. "Wait, let me get this straight. You're not firing me and you think the kiss was your fault?" Jasper asked slowly, almost as if he didn't believe what he was hearing. I nodded again and turned around.

Poor, beautiful Jasper. He looked stunned. Maybe he didn't think I could or would apologize. I had the undying urge to kiss him, however, seeing how that had turned out the last time, I figured it would be less than wise to do that course of action.

He seemed to contemplate for a while, as if he was battling some internal struggle. Finally he smiled, shook his head, sitting down on the couch once more.

"Mr. Cullen—"

"Edward."

He seemed startled by my interruption. However, if I got to call him by his first name, it was only fair that he was able to call me by mine.

His smiled widened. "Edward. It's me who is sorry. I can't let you think this is your fault. It was my idea to kiss you. Well, more correctly it was my brain on a rogue mission."

_Come again?_

"I, um, _wanted _to kiss you."

I adamantly shook my head. "I know you may believe that Jasper, but why would you? If I hadn't mentioned that sex statistic to you in the elevator, the idea wouldn't have entered you brain."

"Not necessarily," he muttered, at least I _thought _he did.

"Sorry, what?"

He took another deep breath. "Mr. Cullen, I mean Edward. I kissed you of my own free will, because, well, I like you."

Jasper stared at me, and for what I could tell _he _wasn't blinking. He had a hopeful expression with a little apprehension mixed in. I should know; I'd seen it in the mirror countless times. He was obviously waiting for me to say something, so I did my best to go over what had just occurred.

According to Jasper, he _liked_ me and _kissed _me because he wanted to? Something wasn't computing here. Why in the world would he like me? Was this some practical joke? I didn't know. But, for some odd reason, ever since he said it to me, I felt like my heart was beating through my chest.

It had only happened a few times. Dr. Hunter said if it happened again that I would either have to do a relaxation technique or take my anti-anxiety medication. I chose to do neither. For one, my Xanax medication was in the car, and two, I didn't really think it possible to use a visualization technique to make me relax at this time. No amount of slow moving streams or trees blowing in the gentle breeze was going to calm me down.

"Well, I guess you can fire me."

Jasper broke me out of my reverie. I turned all my focus from me to him. Jasper, fired? It would be a cold day in Hades when that happened.

"What? Why?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Well, it would be uncomfortable to co-exist in the workplace. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

Why on earth would he feel like that? Sure, I hadn't responded to him in over five minutes after he declared that he liked me… Oh, well that makes a little more sense now. Now, was not the time to freeze, if one thing I wanted to say correctly, it was this.

"Um, no, that is entirely unnecessary, Jasper. You see, I desire you too."

_Did I just say that? _I shrugged. _I guess it could have been worse._

"Oh."

_Oh? What does that mean? _

"Oh?"

He smiled, stood up and nodded. "Oh," he said, more determined.

What was I supposed to do now? What was the protocol for this sort of thing? Maybe I could sneak a text to Angela without Jasper noticing.

More silence ensued. Glancing at my watch, an entire forty-two seconds passed since he spoke.

Well, if he wasn't going to speak, it was time to enact plan B again.

"All right then. I'm glad we got the covered. You kissed me, of your own free will. No sexual harassment was involved. I didn't mind it, what's more, I enjoyed the contact, and now no-one is being fired and/or sued."

"Um, that's right?" Jasper said with a questioning tone, cocking his head to the right.

_God, I am so out of my element here. This was the last thing I expected. I really need to speak to Angela. _

"Correct. Glad we cleared that up," I stated, moving backwards toward the door.

"Me too," Jasper stated, slowly following me with an amused expression on his face.

"I will see you at work tomorrow." I opened the door.

Jasper nodded. "Yes, and for dinner after."

I nodded. "Yes, see you then."

With that, I was safely out the door and down the hall before I realized what happened.

I had agreed to a dinner date with Jasper tomorrow.

_Maybe I'll need that Xanax after all…_

* * *

**It seems as though Jasper got a little of his confidence back. ; )**


	9. Chapter 9

**Huge thanks to sapphirescribe and cocoalvin for betaing this chapter for me and putting up with all my questions! : ) **

**I know it's been a bit since I've updated, between RL and writer's block it's been difficult but I won't bore you with the details.**

**Thanks to everyone who nominated me for the Sunflower Awards and Slash Awards! And thanks to those on Twitter who sent me birthday wishes (and lovely pics of nerdward!).**

**Okay, I'm probably forgetting something, but on with the show…**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Kabourophobia **

I straightened my tie for the umpteenth time and watched as the elevator rose from floor to floor. For once, my anxiety didn't originate from the dangerous cube of death, nope, not at all. It came from the fact that today I would be seeing Jasper after we expressed our…Feelings? Desires? Intentions? Okay, I'll go with that…our intentions toward each other, and we would be meeting after for dinner and then...something. I wouldn't think about what it was. I had a slim idea what would occur, but I refused to let my brain think of anything more than necessary at the moment if I was going to get through the day.

I may or may not have thought about it quite a lot the previous day, which led me to call in to take the rest of the day off in order to dodge all contact from my family. I shouldn't have been surprised, after my seemingly out-of-character departure from our family dinner, that my family had tried to contact me numerous times, no doubt "to check on me." However, I hadn't thought about the ramifications of my actions at all. My mind seemed to be fixated on one thing and one thing only: Jasper Whitlock.

Yesterday, Angela informed me that she would cover for my absence and, as she put it, run "interference" from any and all things. I grew suspicious of her tone and when she stated that she "hoped all things went well," it made me wonder if she knew more than she letting on. Nevertheless, I did believe that she deserved a raise very soon.

I successfully made it to my office without running into anyone, especially my family. Of course, I arrived one hour before anyone was set to arrive so I could avoid them as though my life depended on it. I was overwhelmingly relieved when I stepped into my office. It's funny how such a room—despite being an excessive number of stories off the ground—could feel so comforting. Maybe it was due to the amount of time I spent in this particular place. Maybe it was the memories. Like when I helped with my first big account, when Jasper kissed me, when I found out I was going to be an expecting boss, and then there was the time when Jasper kissed me.

I shook my head. I really needed to get my mind straight. Setting down my briefcase, I headed to the corner and sat wedged between the filing cabinet and wall.

_As I said, everyone needs a thinking space._

O . o . O . o . O

I figured I would have been up by the time Angela arrived. However, when I heard her distinct light knock, I knew I was caught red-handed. Standing in front of me with her hands on her hips, I knew I had to rectify the situation. I stood up quickly, not giving her the chance to try and sit down on the floor again—there was no need to add to my stress and worrying about the baby would do just that.

It only took me approximately seven minutes and forty-three seconds to relay to her what had occurred since I saw her last. Of course, I didn't tell her any real names or such. I casually, and oh-so-subtly, talked about my friend "Edmund" and his co-worker/crush "Jasmine." _I _knew that _she _knew who I really was referring to, however, this way just made it so much easier for me to relay the events to her. Who knew, maybe I would be able to say our actual names soon; if there was anyone that I could talk to about this it would be Angela. After I concluded my epic story about their impending rendezvous that evening, she emitted a very high-pitched squeal and clapped her hands together. I removed my hands from my ears once I knew the sound had stopped.

Certain high-pitched noises could cause a person's eardrums to burst, causing a multitude of inner damage that could lead to death if not properly protected against. This wasn't always on my list of fears, but one day I unknowingly stumbled across a show called "1000 Ways to Die." One thing was for sure, if someone already had a vast amount of things that they were afraid of, then watching this show didn't help...it would actually do the complete opposite.

After watching that dreadful show I took my vacation early—that week—and stayed inside for the whole time. You live, you learn. Well...not according to all the people on that particular show.

Angela gave me a huge smile and proceeded to leave, stating that she would help me in any way she could. I just needed to get through the day and then I could worry about everything else this evening. I only had one meeting to attend this afternoon. It wasn't a big deal though. No, not at all. Just my father, brother, and all the heads of the department would be attending, including Jasper. So, there was no need to worry.

_What was I thinking coming into work today?_

The end of the day was approaching. Not that I would know, it wasn't like I was watching the clock or anything.

Three minutes and twenty-two seconds before I needed to leave for my meeting, Angela peeked in.

"Mr. Cullen?"

"Yes, Angela?"

She walked in, shutting the door behind her as she approached my desk. "Here are the documents you need for your meeting today."

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Angela."

"Anything else?" I inquired. She seemed to be lingering, while I pretended to have temporary amnesia.

"Just wanted to let you know, your father stopped by twice and your brother once."

My head snapped up at that. "Oh?"

She nodded, looking sheepish. "I told them you were in the middle of important phone calls at the time. I hope I was _correct_ in doing so."

I smiled briefly and let it fall, clearing my throat. "Well, yes. Thank you, Angela."

"Oh, and Mr. Cullen, about your...meeting later. Just remember to be yourself. Everything will be fine." The way she smiled at me, it was almost as if she wasn't talking about the meeting at all.

_Oh! She's not. Right. _

Finally, I decided to face the music and leave for the meeting. I planned to enter right as it began so it wouldn't give my father a chance to speak with me before it started. I must not have been the only one with that particular plan because right as I was reaching for the conference room door, so was another very familiar looking hand.

Glancing up, I realized how close he was to me. There he was, in all his perfect glory: Jasper Whitlock.

He was the first to react. He pushed open the door, stepped back and gestured toward the open doorway.

"After you, Mr. Cullen."

O . o . O . o . O

I do believe the meeting went quite well. Of course, I was basing this solely on the fact that I hadn't vomited or blurted out anything inappropriate like I had been doing the past couple of days. Also, there was the fact that I didn't try to avoid Jasper at all times. I looked not only at him once during the meeting, but all of _three_ times. The first time was easy; I just pretended to look at the clock, which conveniently was located above Jasper. After daring to stare for five seconds, I peeled my eyes away and quickly scanned the room, wondering if anyone deduced that I secretly longed for Jasper and had mental images of us horizontal on this very conference table based on my prolonged staring. Concluding that no eyes gazed upon mine, I must have been stealthy enough in my actions to avoid detection.

_Suckers._

The second time I dared to look was only under the illusion of listening to him answer my father's question. I felt safe in my actions because everyone else looked his way as well.

My eyes narrowed. _I hope this doesn't mean that one of my comrades secretly longs for Jasper and has mental images of them horizontal on this very conference table._

I quickly shook my head and pushed aside the thought. As my therapist said, just because I had a thought, it didn't necessarily mean that everyone else was having the same thought as I was, which seemed crazy to me at times.

_How could others not find such things as swans, heights, sea creatures, that strangely dressing Lady GoGo, and solicitors as frightening as I do?_

The third and final time that I glanced Jasper's way was because, well, I just felt like it. The only problem was the second my eyes traveled toward that perfectly shaped body; I found his eyes staring right back at mine!

_Okay, that is enough looking for now._

When the meeting ended, I tried to make a dash for the door before my father spoke to me, without drawing too much attention to myself. If it wasn't for the imbecilic Michael Newton blocking my path by chatting about nonsensical things to the other staff members, I might have made it.

"Edward, before you go, I would like to speak to you." I turned to find my father staring right at me. I couldn't read his expression and I really didn't want to find out what it was. I glanced from him to the door and then back to him.

_Jumping over the table is a little rash, isn't it? What would Angela say_? I sighed. _She would say yes._

I slowly made my way toward my father, just as I heard the rest of the group leave.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. _Sure, now Michael Newton moves._

"Emmett, you can leave as well."

Turning around, I noticed my brother standing there with a hesitant expression on his face. I don't know why but I gave him a reassuring nod. His shoulders slumped in defeat and then he left reluctantly.

"Edward."

"Yes, father."

He sighed and moved, leaning up against the table.

"Your actions the other day really worried your mother."

I decided to stay quiet. One way or another I was going to hear _everything_ he had to say, so it would be best if he got it all out now.

"First, you left dinner suddenly. Second, you didn't answer your phone or respond to any of the messages that were left for you. Third, when I tried to find you yesterday, Angela told me you stepped out. Last, I didn't see you at all today until this meeting."

He paused to look at me, apparently expecting a response.

"Correct." I nodded.

"Your mother wanted me to call the police or, how did she put it? That 'Without a Trace' guy."

"I apologize for worrying...Mom."

"Well, it wasn't just her that was worried. There was your brother and your sister too," He stated, turning away from me and shuffling his papers into his briefcase.

"I'll apologize to them as well. I'll apologize to _everyone_."

He cleared his throat then and turned around. "Right, okay then." He paused for a moment, staring at me. I really hoped this wouldn't turn into another staring contest. I didn't think I would be able to win with all the extra things going on in my mind. For one, there was Jasper: what Jasper was doing, what he was thinking about, what would happen with Jasper tonight, where Jasper would want to eat, and if Jasper wore boxers, briefs or boxer briefs?

You know, all the important things.

"Is there anything I should know about, Edward?"

"Huh?"

"You have been acting strange. I want to make sure you are all right. If you need me to call Dr. Hunter, I will..."

He trailed off, or maybe I just blocked it out because I didn't want to hear about it again. Without looking at him I snatched up my paperwork and headed for the door.

"For the last time, I am fine," I mumbled under my breath.

Before he could respond I was already out of the conference. Thankfully, it was the end of the day and no one was around to see me storming through the office. When I got to my destination, I was able to shut the door without slamming it and I took deep breaths to calm myself.

_Huh, it's actually working. I can feel my heart rate slowing down._

"Hello, Mr. Cullen."

My eyes snapped open. There, staring at me, was none other than Jasper Whitlock.

_So much for my heart rate slowing down._

Had I gone into the wrong office? I glanced around. No, this was certainly my office that contained Jasper Whitlock, who happened to be standing in the very spot that he kissed me days prior.

He smiled and took a step closer.

"You ready to go?"

I opened my mouth to respond. However nothing came out, unless you count a few incoherent sounds. I snapped my mouth shut, trying not to embarrass myself further and nodded.

_Well, at least it's better than blurting out the first thing that came to my mind. I think._

O . o . O . o . O

Jasper had brought me to some restaurant that I couldn't remember the name of for the life of me. Why should I? There were more important things going on!

_Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a little more than panicking now._

As we waited to be seated, I made a mental checklist of things to remember. Starting off, if this was really a date and Jasper wanted to continue dating me, then I absolutely could _not_ allow him to be aware of my _quirks_. If he even got a glimpse of the magnitude that was my fears and anxiety he would go running off in the other direction. The plan was simple: pretend I was normal. Not that I hadn't done that for years, but now I needed to be even _more_ normal. He would never know something was wrong.

Sure, my last boyfriend was well aware of my faults, but that was different. We were childhood friends before we started to date so he had already accepted the fact that I just wasn't quite right.

Another thing I had to remember, was to restrain myself from blurting out the first thing that came to my mind, which usually ended up being inappropriate.

"Edward? You coming? Our table is ready."

"What? Oh, yes."

_Okay, it's time for me to get my game together. Mission: "Date with Jasper" has officially started. What is the expression Emmett would say, "Buck up, or you'll fuck up"? Very inappropriate if you ask me._

I followed the hostess and we took our seats. I didn't know what to immediately do so I picked up my menu and put my eyes there. With Jasper sitting across from me, there was no way I could avoid his stare.

_Why isn't he saying anything? Should I say something? He's the one who invited me, so it's only fair that he speak first._

"I hope you like the restaurant I choose. It's one of my favorites."

_Yes, he spoke first! Now, act cool._

"No, I have never been here before."

Sure, I saw the restaurant when we pulled up, but since entering I hadn't looked anywhere but at my feet or my menu. I raised my glance and assessed the area.

"They specialize in seafood. Best lobster I've ever had."

As he finished his statement I turned toward my right, landing on a tank. A _seafood_ tank to be exact. A seafood tank that currently was holding an abundance of lobsters to be even _more_ exact.

I jumped up in my seat. _Bad idea. They can sense my fear!_

Jasper, unaware of my dislike of all things of the sea, continued to talk as if we weren't in the presence of certain doom.

"Isn't it great? If you choose to get a lobster, you just pick which one you want to have."

_Sure, it would be great if you were Evil Knievel or had a death wish._

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the evil water creatures. What was with those antennas they had? They were touching everything and they were looking right at me! Moving those antennas and such, thinking God only knew what.

_Wait, I need to pull myself together. Jasper is most likely waiting for a response. Plus, I can't forgo my plan of normalcy so close to the beginning._

Very slowly, I turned my head towards Jasper, who was looking at me with a befuddled expression. Could I blame him? No.

"That does sound good. However, I don't think I have the stomach for lobster tonight." I smiled. Seeing Jasper made me almost forget what lay a few feet away. _Almost_ being the key word.

I could do this. All I had to do was focus on Jasper. Per usual, everything else tended to go by the wayside when Jasper was concerned. Why couldn't it be my quirks as well?

Jasper smiled in return. "Well, there is plenty else to choose from."

Just then our waitress Wendy came to supply bread and take our orders.

I, being too frazzled to have really viewed the menu, picked the first thing that I saw that didn't involve anything terrifying. After she left, I prepared myself for what I would assume would be the "talking" portion of the date. It went rather smoothly. He talked about his half-sister Charlotte who lived nearby; I, in turn, spoke of my siblings and parents—not in much detail though, wouldn't want to scare him off that quick.

He ordered wine. I, of course, drank it. That was what the average adult does right? So I sipped at it, hoping not to offend him. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what I hated more: wine or beer.

The wine must have been doing _something,_ because not too long after I started to ingest the substance, my brain went against the plan I came up with earlier.

"This is a date, right?"

Jasper froze mid sip. Then his mouth turned into a large grin, he placed his glass down and reached slowly across the table. It was almost as if he wasn't completely sure of his next move. It wasn't until I felt the pressure that I realized that he had placed his hand on top of mine.

"I hoped it was. I know there are a few...obstacles that we need to figure out, but if you're willing, I'm in."

I gulped. _Obstacles? What is he referring to? Does he mean me and my not-so-normal brain? How does he know?_

"Um, obstacles?"

"Well, yeah. You technically being my boss. I assumed that would go against company policy and if not, it would at least be frowned upon."

"Oh, right, right. No, I think we will be fine. As long as we keep it low-key then I guess… What I mean to say is, I'm in too."

Being the bold individual that I was, I took that as an opportunity to grasp his hand back. Hell, maybe I'd never let go. No, he might think that strange. Nevertheless, for the first time in a long time, I felt afraid, but I wasn't afraid of being afraid. It actually felt kind of good—in a way.

_That's if I don't think about the vast amount of crustaceans in the immediate vicinity._

* * *

**Poor Edward and his overthinking, much anxiety-ridden brain…but fear not! The date continues…**


End file.
